West Ham were on their heels for much of this London Derby with Chelsea, but an effective high line, defensive man coverage, and aerial supremacy saw the points shared at the London Stadium. A clean sheet against the league leaders? Not bad, hammers!
West Ham knew it would be a tough match as Chelsea came in perfect this season, having not dropped points in any of their matches so far. To compound the intensity of the match for West Ham, Arnautovic was deemed not fit to play after sustaining a knee injury at Everton the previous week. Despite the challenges to West Ham in this match, the Irons kept their shape and made life difficult for the Chelsea attack all match long – a point well earned.
The best players for West Ham were unsurprisingly defenders. Zabaleta should be hailed for his coverage all match, up and down the pitch. Before Hazard moved to a free-roaming role Zabaleta was on top of him whenever he had the ball and made life difficult for Chelsea’s spark plug. He also added value by getting up the pitch and taking the ball out wide. He left Hammers fans wanting on a few of his touches in the final third, but his legs were with him for most of the match and he did well to shut down Hazard.
Balbuena in the center back pairing was another notable player in this match. The Paraguayan was tasked with marking Olivier Giroud in aerial duels and although Giroud did win the ball a few times the pressure Balbuena put on him forced those wins away from Fabianski and out of the dangerous areas. Of the two center backs, Balbuena was the leader on the pitch today, oh and did anyone see him sprint up the pitch and close down Kepa?
Another match and another opportunity taken by the reins for Declan Rice. The formation showed itself to be the same as the Everton match with Obiang and Noble more advanced in the midfield trio than Rice, who was tasked with protecting the back line. Rice was a rock for West Ham in this position, stepping up constantly to make tackles on Hazard and Kovacic, who looked solid for Chelsea up the middle of the pitch.
Rice’s performance also highlighted his footballing IQ. He was left in the team after the final substitutions were made, and continued to lead his team from the midfield position. He never panics when the ball comes to him, and when killing off the game Rice held onto the ball allowing attackers to overlap him while he protected possession and worked his way to the sideline. It’s the little things with Rice that take him from a solid player to a great player.
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West Ham’s man of the match was Lukasz Fabianski. This is becoming a recurring selection as he has stolen the show for West Ham time and time again this season, but this was his first clean sheet for West Ham and one he thoroughly earned.
Fabianski made six saves in this match, including a few world-class ones. Morata was in one-on-one with the Polish keeper but couldn’t manage to slot it passed his perfectly positioned face, while Ross Barkley took a free kick destined for the bottom right corner that met the left hand of the keeper rather than twine.
Fabianski has been West Ham’s best bit of transfer business this season so far, and it isn’t really close. The Hammers have been bailed out by their keeper plenty this season, but that isn’t specifically why he has been terrific. Fabianski shows composure on his line, and elite decision making when he decides to attack the ball. With sure hands and probably a bloody nose Fabianski was again integral to the deserved point from West Ham.
As for West Ham’s attack, there were some positives. Michail Antonio got the start over Lucas Perez at striker following the news that Arnautovic wasn’t able to play and the forward did okay in this match. He didn’t have the finishing that Arnautovic regularly does but put pressure on Chelsea keeper Kepa at times and did manage West Ham’s only shot on target in the match. This was a start out of necessity for Antonio as Chicharito was unavailable due to illness again, but I still think he needs to be used as a sub going forward.
The West Ham wingers were solid in this match too. Felipe Anderson was less effective than he was in the Everton match, but again showed a burgeoning relationship with left-back Arthur Masuaku up the wing and put his dribbling skills on display at times in this match as well.
An accolade to Anderson was the physicality and grit he showed when matched up against Kante today. In one instance Anderson won the ball, flicked it around Kante, pushed him back to protect the ball, maintained possession, and then frustrated Kante into taking a yellow card on an ugly tackle. These are positive steps for Anderson who is clearly on the right track now.
Yarmolenko, Yarmolenko, Yarmolenko. He had the opportunity to stay in the goals and be West Ham’s hero yet again but alas, he missed an open header. He did well to lose his coverage on the whipped cross from Snodgrass (who replaced Anderson on the left side), but too much time to think spoiled what looked to be a sure goal for the Irons. He was visibly frustrated by the miss but it was good to see Perez, who happily was subbed on for Antonio, grab him and motivate him back into the game.
Yarmolenko also stung a shot just over the bar early into the second half that had Kepa beat in net. The Ukranian has taken some time to get used to Premier League play, but safe to say he can handle the challenge. He is a must-start for West Ham as the offense he has within him can carry the Irons to some solid results. Maybe just work on some headed ball drills in training now, okay?
The rest of the players on the pitch did their jobs well. Obiang and Noble looked like a cohesive unit in the midfield and should get a lot of credit (along with Rice) for effectively shutting down Jorginho in this match who had proved to be Chelsea’s puppeteer and pass master this season. As well, Masuaku will always puzzle you for some of the decisions he makes, but he seemed to cede his offense for more responsible defensive play in coverage of Willian today which is a positive.
West Ham knew this match would be tough, and tough it was. The biggest positive to take from this draw is the shape the team kept the willingness and structure the team showed in the game plan. Giroud and Morata didn’t have any easy plays against the back line, while Hazard and Willian were nabbed for offside three times in this match due to the high line.
It’s a point West Ham will proudly take, forcing Chelsea to drop their first points of the season. Without Arnautovic West Ham were likely counted out for this match, but responsible play kept them solid, and the point was well earned.
Bring it on, Manchester United.