West Ham were excellent and got their tactics spot on by raining in crosses and giving Chelsea no time to play. But they were helped by Claudio Ranieri picking a team which had no pace to counter-attack.
With Eidur Gudjohnsen and Gianfranco Zola up front, and Jesper Gronkjaer injured, Chelsea didn't have the legs to outrun defenders. Everything had to go to feet, so West Ham could really squeeze the game.
West Ham's centre-backs played high up the park knowing Chelsea couldn't turn them round by hitting balls over the top. And Glen Johnson could support attacks with little danger of passes being played in behind him.
With West Ham playing with good, high-tempo aggression, Chelsea found it hard to settle and build a rhythm. When they did string passes together, they were generally so deep they couldn't threaten.
Chelsea were often on the back foot as West Ham threw bodies into the box. But even when they won possession they couldn't strike straight back.
Zola and Gudjohnsen can hurt you given space, but Chelsea had no quick outlet ball over the top to use. West Ham ensured they were kept deep and if a pass went to Zola's feet, Tomas Repka closed him down, forcing it out to midfield.
Chelsea had no one getting beyond the strikers. Graeme Le Saux can do it but was pushed back by Johnson. Frank Lampard likes to get between the strikers in the last 30 yards, not 80 yards from goal.
I think Chelsea could have started with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink or Carlton Cole to add pace. Hasselbaink 's not had a great season but he would have made things harder by stretching the game.
Repka and Christian Dailly would have worried about losing a sprint for balls over the top. And once centre-backs are turned and running towards their own goal, the rest of the team has to get back.
Emmanuel Petit's best pass is over the top from left to right. And once the centre-halves have slackened, Chelsea could feed their other striker - Zola or Gudjohnsen - in more space, buying time for the support to get up.
