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A Tammy Abraham brace after Thiago Silva had starred at both ends of the field sent Chelsea back on the winning track with a 3-0 win over West Ham to move up to fifth place in the Premier League.
For long stretches, it seemed like a 10th minute opener for center-back Silva would be the difference between the two London teams, who were even for much of this derby at Stamford Bridge.
West Ham had many promising moments but failed to create a clear opportunity and was forced to pay late when England international Abraham scored a quick double to restore the faith of coach Frank Lampard, who called him up at the start. XI.
It was not an easy night for the Blues, who lost Ben Chilwell to injury and yet bounced back after back-to-back losses and left West Ham with a feeling of what it might have been if they had shown more quality in the latter. third.
Lampard was left without Reece James due to a knee injury and his other winger and birthday boy Chilwell was forced to retire in the ninth minute with an ankle problem, but another defender provided the perfect tonic for that first substitution with the first match.
Mason Mount’s corner kick found Silva and he headed powerfully home in the 10th minute for his second Chelsea goal after fleeing from the packed group at the penalty spot.
It had been an eventful start, with Declan Rice finding the net after seven minutes against the club he played for until age 14, but the offside flag interrupted his celebrations.
Rice was left without the captain’s armband after Moyes decided to hand Mark Noble his second league start to the season, the last being the opening day loss to Newcastle on September 12, and he was used further up the court. in position number 10.
The decision did not have the desired effect early on with Sebastien Haller largely isolated and Abraham thought he had doubled Chelsea’s lead with 16 left, but Mount couldn’t keep the ball in play and the goal was disallowed.
Ultimately, the visitors took hold of the procedure and a foul on Silva caused Jarrod Bowen to deny a goal at the half-hour mark.
After the former Paris St-Germain center-back starred at the other end of the pitch early in the match, he showed his class in his usual territory in the 33rd minute when he blocked a Tomas Soucek volley with his stomach.
It was another encouraging moment for West Ham, but they remembered the quality of the hosts two minutes before half-time when Christian Pulisic found Timo Werner unmarked inside the area, but he meekly shot Lukasz Fabianski to see his goal drought continue.
The weak effort was indicative of the German’s goalless form in his last eight outings after a period of seven club goals in the space of a month during October and November.
West Ham remained on the front foot after the break, but Edouard Mendy had yet to be tested at the hour mark with the return of César Azpilicueta producing a magnificent block to deny Pablo Fornals.
It was the attackers’ last involvement with Said Benrahma featured by coach Moyes soon after, while Lampard had seen enough of Jorginho, who failed to impress in his first league start in two months.
Mateo Kovacic replaced the Chelsea midfielder, but it was Silva who remained the key figure, brilliantly scoring all four of the hosts’ defenses until the second decisive goal came.
Werner cut in and tried his luck again and although his shot was poor, West Ham left-back Aaron Cresswell did not keep up with the rest of his defenders, ensuring that Abraham was in play and that he made no mistakes since close.
Two minutes later, with 80 plays, it was 3-0 when Pulisic led Chelsea’s attack and while Fabianski denied him a cross from Mount, Abraham was there again to score and take his score for the night to two.
After a five-game drought, the 23-year-old was back on the roster and rewarded Lampard’s decision to bring him back to the team for his first league start of the month.
There was still time for Werner to squander another chance, but the Blues are back on the winning track and by a wide margin ahead of their December 26 clash at Arsenal, with West Ham hosting Brighton next.
Full match details
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