Chelsea – West Ham United: Blues Overcome Second Half Jinx To Edge London Derby (2-1)
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side overcame their usual second-half collapse jinx to edge the London derby against West Ham by scoring two goals in the second forty-five. Goals from Pedro Neto and an own goal by Aaron Wan-Bissaka from a deflected strike by Cole Palmer cancelled a first-half goal by Jarrod Bowen for West Ham as the Blues won the game on the night moving into 4th place in the Premier League table.
Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.
Ask any expert salesman & he’ll tell you it’s all about closing. Closing their games out has been a largely apparent scourge for Enzo Maresca’s Blues with his Chelsea side often decapitating in the second half to lose games. In fact, the Blues have dropped twelve points from winning positions over the course of the season – twelve points which would have seen them very much in the mix of the title race.
But c'est la vie and the Blues have learned the hard way that closing out their games from winning positions is essential, especially in the Premier League where the margins are thin. Maresca spoke about game management in some recent comments in the media ahead of this game against West Ham so it was an area that he has certainly put under the microscope. However, Chelsea duly delivered on that front in this game.
For West Ham, the Graham Potter era has begun. The former Chelsea boss who had a torrid time at Stamford Bridge, has been brought in by the Hammers board to usher some stability and get West . . .
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