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7 Things To Take Away From West Ham’s Chelsea Clash

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea is fouled by Michail Antonio of West Ham United leading to a penalty during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 15: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea is fouled by Michail Antonio of West Ham United leading to a penalty during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) /
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Our Midfield did OK defensively, but link play needs to improve

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Eden Hazard of Chelsea is closed down by Havard Nordtveit of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Eden Hazard of Chelsea is closed down by Havard Nordtveit of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) /

We went with 4-3-3 as I predicted, but we failed to get the transition correct. We were fairly robust defensively, but we did not move the game forwards once we had the ball.

The Midfield three of Kouyate, Nordtveit and Noble did well in Europe last week, but struggled to move forward against Chelsea. They were put under pressure and when the ball was won all three were just in front of the defence. It stopped us getting out of our half.

This changed when Payet came on and it meant we could press more, leading to the corner from which we scored. Someone willing to hold the ball in the middle of the park allows everyone to move up and actually attack. I hope we sort this out because West Ham having to rely this much on Payet would make a frustrating season.

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