West Ham 3-2 Chelsea, Premier League: statistical review and analysis

That sucked.

Overview

Chelsea was clearly the second best in all departments from the first minute to the last. Faced with a tough defense, the team struggled to create clear opportunities and were generally poor in established pieces.

Pulisic’s career won a penalty kick that was converted by Willian, but West Ham had a one-piece discarded goal before using the same tactic to grab the equalizer.

The shambolic defense gave West Ham a second goal before Willian’s free kick. Chelsea looked good over a 10-minute period after the draw, but struggled to create many opportunities, except one for Giroud.

As the wait for a third goal lengthened, Chelsea pledged too many men forward and was forced to pay the price for a classic West Ham counterattack goal.

---

Statistics

---

Individual ratings

Frank Lampard

Lampard stayed with the same 4-3-3 system that had produced excellent results but perhaps he will regret the selection of his team. The two advanced midfielders are the most important players in this system and choosing Kovačić and Barkley interrupted the team’s usual flow of play. It was no surprise that fluency improved dramatically once Mount appeared.

The usual problems of the continuous piece continued and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight, at least until the end of this season. Lampard will have to bear some of the blame, regardless of staff.

CLASSIFICATION: 6

---

Kepa Arrizabalaga

This was the fourth game of this season in which opponents scored from all of their shots on target against Chelsea. His poor judgment in preparing West Ham’s first goal and his positioning for the third were reminders of mistakes we’ve seen throughout the season.

Not much more to say, really.

CLASSIFICATION: 4.5

---

Photo by Julian Finney / Getty Images

César Azpilicueta

Azpilicueta did his best to make things happen in the last third, but with minimal help from his teammates, he couldn’t do much. His emphasis on crossover increased once Giroud was started, but the precision left a lot to be desired.

CLASSIFICATION: 6

---

Andreas Christensen

After a phenomenal performance against Manchester City, this was a reality check for Christensen. His judgment was frequently poor and Michail Antonio constantly beat him in duels. Watching balls didn’t help either.

CLASSIFICATION: 5

---

Antonio Rüdiger

Perhaps the worst player on the team that night. He turned the corner unnecessarily, leading to West Ham’s first goal. His performance went downhill from there, with his defense for the third goal particularly poor. Showing Yarmolenko on his stronger left foot was a defense that he probably won’t want to look at again.

CLASSIFICATION: 4

---

Photo by Michael Regan / Getty Images

Marcos Alonso

Although it was not his best display, it is unlikely that Alonso will leave this game with too much reputation success. Possibly he could have had an assist from a nice cut to Giroud, and contributed some nice passes in the final third. Finally, he had nothing to show.

CLASSIFICATION: 6.5

---

N’Golo Kanté

This was shaping up to be a fantastic performance by Kante until his poor judgment for the third goal, trying to win the ball in the box instead of sitting deep. He did a good job of stopping the West Ham counters.

SCORE: 7

---

Ross Barkley

Given the opportunity to start after his cameo against Leicester, Barkley was unable to capitalize. The player made some nice passes but did not contribute anything substantial at the end of the day. His decision-making speed needs work and he needs to start taking more risks if Lampard wants to beat deep blocks more comfortably.

RANKING: 5.5

---

Matthew Kovačić

It was played in an unknown attacking position and was demonstrated. Kovačić struggled to play penetrating passes and struggled to progress the ball fast enough, reminiscent of his performances with Sarri last season. However, he cannot be blamed much considering that his skill set is not suited to the role assigned to him.

RANKING: 5.5

---

Rob Newell photo – CameraSport via Getty Images

Willian

He continued his great form streak, taking his goal contribution to 7 in the last 6 games. While this was not his best overall performance, he stood up when it mattered and made significant contributions. Their farewell tour has been excellent so far.

SCORE: 8

---

Tammy Abraham

Pretty horrible performance overall. He struggled to make the correct runs within the area, was unable to put his teammates on the line and received the ball in harmless positions. This is not your best day at the office.

CLASSIFICATION: 4.5

---

Christian Pulisic

Pulisic is unlikely to be completely happy with this display despite winning the two fouls that led to Willian’s reinforcement. His firing radar was off and he was not at his best from a dribbling perspective except for the two fouls won. Its approval in the final third also needs some work, especially in terms of consistency and having a wider field of view. Anyway, he was among our best artists.

SCORE: 7

---

Photo by Julian Finney / Getty Images

Mason Mount

He changed the game by coming off the bench. Interestingly, he took a deeper position than he usually does on the ball and tried to make things happen. We increased our possession speed in a matter of minutes, but we weren’t able to deliver a hard hit, either in terms of passing or shooting.

SCORE: 7

---

Ruben Loftus-Cheek

A much more encouraging display compared to the display against Aston Villa. Loftus-Cheek seemed sharper and more willing to take risks. However, rust showed and its performance was not at the required level.

CLASSIFICATION: 6

---

Olivier Giroud

It offered a better benchmark for the attack than Tammy Abraham. He will feel he should have done better because of Alonso’s recoil at the end of the second half, especially since it was on his stronger left foot.

CLASSIFICATION: 6

Rob Newell photo – CameraSport via Getty Images