For much of the game Michail Antonio felt a little bit lonely up front but almost every time he was brought into the action the lone striker made it count.
There were two first-half attempts, the second brilliantly saved by Kepa, and there was the second-half goal ruled out for handball following a VAR check but his greatest input was the ground he covered, moving constantly to either draw Chelsea's defence out of position or press them into hurrying the ball along.
This was a tireless performance that may not have produced too many highlights for TV but left those in the ground rather impressed.
An honourable mention for Robert Snodgrass, too, whose work ethic is consistently very, very high.
Rice beats Mount in battle of best friends
Declan Rice's performance was best summed up by how ineffective Mason Mount was.
The England pair, best friends since childhood, had given an interview together before this game about their relationship. But in their first meeting against each other there was no doubt who came out on top.
Rice kept it simple throughout, hardly ever caught out of position and using the ball well when in possession.
It is also worth considering how much more it means for Rice to beat Chelsea, the club that let him go as a teenager.
Why did it take so long for Martin to come in?
Yes, it was a fairytale debut for the 33-year-old but it was a switch that should have been made much earlier.
He clearly brought relief and confidence to the players in front of him, after Roberto has stripped his team-mates of any belief in his ability through that series of embarrassing errors.
Manuel Pellegrini needs to take some blame for not making the decision a couple of weeks back. It should have been done after Newcastle or Burnley, perhaps. But at least he got there eventually.
Defensive masterclass
It is hard to gauge how much of this was down to having a solid goalkeeper behind them but West Ham's defence were impenetrable throughout against Chelsea.
Frank Lampard's team may have been tactically caught out - what was the point in playing crosses to Christian Pulisic when he was up against centre halves several inches taller? - but the Irons' back four handled everything with minimal fuss.
Fabian Balbuena even went close to scoring from a corner in the second half, while Angelo Ogbonna appeared to head everything that came his way clear.
Homophobic chants sour the afternoon
It was a day where West Ham fans had a rare opportunity to celebrate a fine performance from their team. Instead plenty took it as a chance to sing songs featuring a homophobic reference that paints the entire fanbase in a bad light to outsiders.
Such insults have no place at a football ground in 2019 and must not be tolerated.
