Green Street Hammers
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 7
Next

The Match Is 90 minutes long, not 85

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Diego Costa of Chelsea scores his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Diego Costa of Chelsea scores his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on August 15, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /

Once again West Ham were undone by a late goal, and it’s becoming very familiar.

Last season we conceded quite a few goals towards the end of matches, and that would have been the difference in the automatic Europa spot push. Concentration needs to be right up to the whistle, and even as we pushed forward our defence switched off.

Against the big teams any half chance can be finished and Costa punished our sluggishness in closing him down. If we want to compete at the business end of the table we need to focus for the entire 90, especially when we have momentum.

It didn’t help that we made a lot of changes fairly early, which meant that tired players couldn’t be taken off. However they’re professionals and should be capable of getting closer than Collins did to blocking the shot.

Next: Refereeing Errors