Read Dominic Fifield’s match report:
Some West Ham reaction: Michail Antonio talks. “Looking back, I should have scored but with hindsight you always think you should have done something different. We’ve started to gel, you can see our philosophy and it feels like two points dropped.” Declan Rice adds: “The chances we missed in the first half and the Yarmolenko header at the end, that would have been a crucial turning point. But I’m proud of all the lads, we took so much confidence from last week. We were so close to another three points.”
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Full-time: West Ham United 0-0 Chelsea
That’s it. Chelsea drop points for the first time this season. West Ham could have snatched victory with Andriy Yarmolenko heading wide unmarked, while Morata smashed an effort straight at Fabianski. In the end, both teams cancelled each other out.
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90+3 min: A spectacular overhead-kick clearance by Yarmolenko allows West Ham to breathe easy once more. It comes straight back at them, but Hazard gets it all wrong from a tight angle. A wild finish!
90+1 min: Willian wastes a golden opportunity, lashing a volley out for a throw-in, instead of teeing up Morata to fire home into an empty net. We’re into the final throws of four added minutes. Suddenly, West Ham are hanging on. Snodgrass is booked for a lunge on Willian. The Brazilian will deliver from the right ...
90 min: Ross Barkley with a stunning, curling effort from 20 yards, but Fabianski gets a strong left hand to it! That was a smarting, devious effort. West Ham clear the resulting corner but back come Chelsea ...
89 min: Hazard plays in Kante, who then feeds Morata to flick the ball into the net ... but Mike Dean had long blown his whistle for offside. Chelsea know it, shrug their shoulders and look to go again. West Ham look ready to settle for a decent point.
88 min: Hazard stabs a little ball into the box, but it’s straight down the throat of Fabianski, who collects. West Ham’s intensity has fizzled as Chelsea attempt to up the ante.
85 min: Sanchez is on for Noble, who soaks the applause of a standing ovation of sorts.
84 min: Carlos Sanchez is being readied for West Ham, as Chelsea continue to probe for a winner ..
81 min: Kante shoots over! Willian does superb, this time down the left. He slides the ball infield, where Kante is waiting but the Frenchman gets it all wrong. Head in hands. That was as good as a chance as Chelsea have had. Both teams have kept pushing. Can one of them find a way through?
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79 min: Kovacic is replaced by Ross Barkley.
77 min: A huge miss by Yarmolenko!! The winger meets Snodgrass’ delicious bending cross around the Chelsea defence from the left. On target and it’s in, but Yarmolenko nods wide. A massive chance goes begging. Up in the stands, a stony-faced Arnautovic stands in anger as the London Stadium gasps.
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74 min: Hazard tries to work the ball to Morata with a little flick, but he does not get enough weight on the pass. West Ham fail to properly clear their lines, running into trouble and Noble makes a meaty challenge on Kovacic earns Chelsea a free-kick 25 yards from goal. But Fabianski gathers no problem.
73 min: Another change: Felipe Anderson is replaced by Robert Snodgrass.
70 min: Azpilicueta swings in a lovely ball towards the back post, but Hazard cannot direct his header goalwards.
69 min: Gary Cahill gets his wish, and he’s on for Antonio Rudiger, who seemed to have picked up a groin injury of sorts. And now Noble tugs at Jorginho’s shirt to put Chelsea back in the ascendency.
66 min: Morata is straight into the thick of it! After Hazard backheeled the ball into his path, Chelsea recycle possession and force a brilliant instinctive save by Fabianski – whether he knew much about it or not – who prevents Chelsea from taking the lead. The ball actually smacks Fabianski in the face, and he’s down receiving some treatment. He’s OK. Chelsea came alive then, and should probably have taken one of those chances, in truth.
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65 min: A couple of personnel changes: Giroud is replaced by Morata. For West Ham, Lucas Perez, who threw his toys out the pram a little last weekend, gladly jumps off the bench in place of Michail Antonio. Manuel Pellegrini rolls the dice.
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63 min: Jorginho again plays a cute ball into the box, a little dink in search of Giroud. The Frenchman gets there, but unselfishly tries to lay the ball on for Hazard. Eventually, West Ham crowd him out, before Luiz fouls Antonio down the right flank. West Ham will be happy with this.
60 min: Chelsea are growing frustrated, as the West Ham barricade stands firm once more. Fabianski gathers and West Ham go down the other end on the attack. Noble does well to nick the ball away, reclaiming possession but they cannot carve out the killer final pass.
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57 min: Rudiger does superbly to shackle Antonio after the West Ham forward was played through one-on-one. This game hasn’t been dull, end-to-end, in fact. Moments earlier, Willian did brilliantly down the right before crossing low into the box.
54 min: Yarmolenko goes over in the box after a little shove by David Luiz, but nothing’s doing. Masuaku had delivered a sliderule ball from the left, but the West Ham winger cannot reach it, instead cheerleading for a penalty. Chelsea go straight up the other end, winning a corner, and Luiz – involved again – heads over unmarked.
53 min: Willian dinks it in, but Rudiger is penalised for a foul on Diop – presumably a high boot after attempting an ambitious overhead kick.
52 min: Diop miskicks a clearance, and plays West Ham intro trouble. Willian drifts down the right and Anderson upends the Chelsea winger. They have a free-kick, on the edge of the box ...
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51 min: As against Everton last weekend, Yarmolenko cuts inside Jorginho and on to his left foot. He bends an effort at goal, but this time it doesn’t end up in the top corner. Still, plenty of encouragement for the hosts.
50 min: Chelsea are not having it all their own way. Obiang sets free Anderson on halfway, and Kante scythes down the West Ham winger. He gets a booking for his troubles too. Chelsea are little sticky, here.
47 min: Hazard, from the edge of his own box, bounces off a series of West Ham challenges, before he eventually gives up the ghost after halfway. He could have done with a bit of help from his team-mates.
46 min: Antonio gets us under way again.
Half-time: West Ham 0-0 Chelsea
Goalless at the interval, then. Both teams have passed up decent chances in an entertaining first 45 minutes; Antonio for the hosts, while Giroud and Kante, on the brink of the half-time whistle, will feel they could have poked their noses in front. All to play for.
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44 min: Kante nods wide! It opens up nicely for Hazard, with Willian doing brilliantly to – first time – sidefoot an inviting ball across the box. There’s Kante to meet it, but he glances his header wide.
40 min: David Luiz manhandles Antonio, and West Ham win a free-kick just inside the Chelsea half. Manuel Pellegrini will be very happy with glimpses of what he has seen; Antonio’s been lively.
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37 min: For a moment, Zabaleta and Balbuena have a job on their hands to prevent Hazard from doing damage inside the box, but the West Ham defenders stand their ground and crowd out the Chelsea forward. The visitors’ initial verve has fizzled out a little.
36 min: West Ham seem to have gained a little more control as this game has gone on. Yarmolenko has grown into the match too, causing Alonso a few headaches down the right.
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33 min: A replay of that Antonio chance shows just how brilliantly Kepa did to repel the West Ham forward’s effort. Antonio absolutely blasts the ball straight at the goalkeeper in fairness, but the Chelsea stopper instinctively gets his left leg out to block.
32 min: Hazard is felled just outside the box, but Mike Dean’s having none of it. And West Ham fly forward once more on the counter. Chelsea seem a little rattled. There did not appear to be an awful lot of contact, with Hazard going over under pressure from Declan Rice.
30 min: Antonio lashes an effort at Kepa! But the Chelsea goalkeeper keeps it out. West Ham manoeuvre the ball into the box all to easily on the counter, with Yarmolenko facing up the Chelsea defence before a ricochet helped the ball to Antonio. He smashes it goalwards – but Kepa again keeps him at bay.
29 min: Antonio shoots wide! Anderson does really well, driving down the left flank before slipping in the West Ham forward. He does the hard part; he shrugs off Rudiger but cannot get his effort on target, blazing wide.
27 min: Balbuena makes a mess of a simple clearance, and cedes possession deep inside his own half. West Ham get off the hook, but they could do without that.
25 min: Another half-chance goes begging for Chelsea, with Willian’s free-kick cleared by Zabaleta. The ball almost drops for Hazard, and West Ham concede another corner.
24 min: Chelsea are stroking it around midfield, dictating the pace. West Ham are camped behind the ball.
23 min: Jorginho clips the ball in for Giroud – but the striker cannot execute the finish. He attempts a volley, but the pass is played a little behind him and he cannot thrash out an effort. That was cute by Chelsea.
21 min: Willian flashes an effort wide from distance.
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20 min: Suddenly, West Ham are on the counterattack, with Felipe Anderson flying down the left, with Azpilicueta back-pedalling. He drives inside, and the ball eventually pinballs off Rudiger for a corner.
18 min: Yarmolenko attempts a Hollywood crossfield ball but he forces it, and Chelsea snuff it out.
15 min: Kante, unmarked, leaps in the box to meet Alonso’s hanging cross from the left. West Ham get rid.
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14 min: Chelsea win another corner, with Hazard increasingly influential down the right.
13 min: Azpilicueta drives down the right flank, dinks in a cross for Willian. West Ham bat it away, but it feels a matter of time before Chelsea send Fabianski’s goal rippling. Willian plays a short corner with Hazard – but Fabianski comes out to collect. They needed that.
11 min: Willian and Hazard combine, the latter with a nice feint to take the ball away from Masuaku. Chelsea work it from right to left, with Hazard picking it back up and shooting at Fabianski from an acute angle. It’s on target, but never troubling the goalkeeper.
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10 min: Noble with a crunching challenge on Kovacic on halfway, but Chelsea persist upfield. The midfield axis of Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante are seeing plenty of ball. They eventually offload to Rudiger, who has played every minute for Maurizio Sarri this season, to let fly from distance. Fabianski gathers.
9 min: Giroud strikes straight at Fabianski from Willian’s corner. That was all very easy for the Chelsea striker, and he should have done better, really.
7 min: Zabaleta gets to byline, looks to swing it in ... but he makes a real mess of it, with his standing foot prodding the ball out as he looked to deliver.
6 min: A healthy bit of possession for West Ham, with Yarmolenko teeing up Mark Noble on the edge of the box. Felipe Anderson then lets fly, but Kante is there to block and hoover the ball up.
5 min: Hazard is in on over the top ... but flagged offside. That comes moments after Antonio was played in from the West Ham right. A lively start.
4 min: Willian raids down the right, and hooks the ball into the box in search of Giroud but West Ham clear their lines. Chelsea rebuild again, with Jorginho breaking up possession.
2 min: Obiang clatters Hazard but Mike Dean waves play on. Then Jorginho tries to thread a ball through for Giroud but he overhits his pass. Fabianski wellies it upfield, with Antonio keeping David Luiz on his toes.
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1 min: Zabaleta thumps the ball down the right and Antonio seizes it, keeping Alonso at bay. A decent start by West Ham, who have began on the front foot.
Peeeeeeeeep!
Chelsea get us under way.
The teams are in the tunnel. We’re just a few bubbles and firm handshakes away from the off at the London Stadium.
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Manuel Pellegrini, the West Ham manager speaks. “Marko tried until the last minute to see if e was 100% fit, he worked us a little bit yesterday on set-pieces. He tried, but he couldn’t,” he says. “Marko is an important player, he’s scoring a lot of goals so it’s not the best to play one of the best teams in the Premier [League]. But we have a squad, and Antonio can play.”
Gary Cahill is back on the bench for Chelsea. He spoke earlier this week about how he is considering leaving the club in January after failing to make the 18-man squad for their first five league games of the season. He was on the bench in midweek against PAOK, and back among the substitutes at the London Stadium:
Headline team news: no Marko Arnautovic for West Ham. That’s quite the blow for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. The forward had been directly involved in four of their five Premier League goals this season. As for Chelsea, Maurizio Sarri, as expected, recalls Eden Hazard, while Pedro misses out with that shoulder injury sustained in Greece against PAOK Salonika. “I think this is the most difficult game we have played until now,” he says. “They are a really very good team. It’s a very difficult game for us today.”
The teams!
West Ham United: Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku; Rice, Obiang, Noble; Yarmolenko, Antonio, Felipe Anderson
Subs: Adrian, Cresswell, Fredericks, Ogbonna, Sanchez, Snodgrass, Lucas Perez
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Rudiger, Alonso; Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic; Willian, Giroud, Hazard
Subs: Caballero, Cahill, Zappacosta, Moses, Fabregas, Barkley, Morata
Referee: Mike Dean
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Preamble
Amid all the gushing adjectives swirling around Liverpool and Manchester City, Chelsea have been quietly going about their business in an impressive fashion, swatting aside opponents for fun. This is their best start to a Premier League season since under Carlo Ancelotti in 2010. Against West Ham at the London Stadium – where Manuel Pellegrini’s side have lost both games so far this season – they have a chance to make it six wins from six, though Pellegrini’s side will be determined to prove they are a different beast after a rocky start to the season. They outclassed Everton last weekend and, if West Ham can rise to the challenge of a derby, then they will fancy their chances of making more than a fist of it. Key to any hopes of an upset will be Marko Arnautovic, the West Ham forward who has been at the heart of just about everything positive this campaign. It’s also another opportunity for the destructive duo, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko, to wreak havoc. For Chelsea, they will welcome back Eden Hazard with open arms after he was rested in midweek. Team news is imminent but, until then, have a read of Jacob Steinberg’s interview with Arnautovic:
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