Following a morale-boosting 4-0 triumph over Manchester United last weekend, Chelsea somehow succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against a struggling West Ham United at the London Stadium on Wednesday. TheHardTackle takes a look at four talking points from the game.
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea were all over the news just three days earlier, having taken Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United to the cleaners. The Blues were odds on to inflict similar damage upon a West Ham United side in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
However, the Hammers, buoyed by their upturn in form in recent weeks, took the game to Chelsea and emerged surprise 2-1 winners in a feisty London derby to seal their progress through to the quarter-finals where they will face Manchester United.
Goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Edimilson Fernandes were enough for Slaven Bilic’s side on the night to upstage the Blues as they continued their resurgence after a poor start to their campaign. Meanwhile, Antonio Conte will have a lot more to take away from this defeat than he would have had from their demolition of United last weekend.
TheHardTackle highlights four points that the Italian is expected to address over the course of the next few weeks.
Disappointing Terry
John Terry made his return to the starting lineup, playing for the first time in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 formation. Given the Blues’ defensive frailties early on in the season, the talismanic defender was expected to be the focal point in the Italian’s three-man back-line. However, Terry was evidently rusty on the night, lacking the sharpness he showed a little over 18 months ago when he led his side to the Premier League title.
The former England international was comfortably outmuscled by Cheikhou Kouyate for the first goal, and along with Nathaniel Chalobah, was guilty of failing to close down Edimilson Fernandes sooner for the second. Having only returned from an ankle injury after six weeks on the sidelines, it may be too much to expect the usual sharpness from Terry immediately.
However, given how the three-man defence has come together in the last few weeks for Chelsea, Wednesday night was Terry’s chance to stake his claim in the new setup. Having failed to grab the opportunity provided to him, the performance will probably hurt the 35-year-old the most as it further reduces his chances of first-team action.
Youngsters fail to take their chances
Only four members from Sunday’s demolition job at Stamford Bridge made their way into the starting XI for the West Ham clash. It was a great opportunity for youngsters like Nathaniel Chalobah, Ola Aina and Michy Batshuayi — who has impressed during his substitute appearances — to make a name for themselves in the absence of the big guns.
As it turned out, a lively West Ham outfit neutralised anything that Chelsea had to offer in attack throughout the game. Barring a couple of glaring opportunities afforded to Batshuayi, the Blues attack looked starved of good service, quality and the sting that made Jose Mourinho’s life hell just a few days earlier.
It was subsequently the introductions of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa that initiated a torrent of attacks towards the end of the game as Conte’s side made a dash for the equaliser.
Chalobah has been very impressive whenever he has come off the bench, but he still has a lot to work on in order to stake a regular place in the starting XI. His partnership with N’Golo Kante didn’t quite materialise as well as expected, with the duo not playing off each other like the Frenchman does with Nemanja Matic.
The tactical naivete and inexperience of players like Ola Aina and Chalobah meant they needed a strong hand to guide them in the right direction. They also needed more experienced squad mates to cover and compensate for their errors.
Poor conversion hurt the Blues
Prior to the introduction of Costa and Hazard, the Blues had very little sight of the West Ham goal and failed to convert a couple of rare opportunities that came their way. Batshuayi, the culprit on one occasion, was presented with a peach of a cross into the box from the left wing, only for him to sky the ball into the stands.
Towards the end of the game the Blues had a lot more chances on goal, but failed to put away any of them until Gary Cahill struck in the very last minute of stoppage time.
The Blues lacked the incisive finishing that has marked their remarkable performances of late. They will have to establish a measure of consistency if they are to harbour hopes of challenging for the only two competitions they will now compete in: the Premier League and FA Cup.
Hammers on the up?
West Ham endured a diabolical start to the season, with their form and performances even prompting talk of relegation. However, two wins on the trot over the last couple of weeks in the Premier League, followed by a massive success over their London rivals in the EFL Cup, will do Slaven Bilic’s side a world of good.
Although it was against a second-string Chelsea line-up on Wednesday, West Ham looked a lot like the side that created waves in the Premier League last season. Wednesday’s win could be the stimulus to achieving bigger things for a Hammers lineup abundant in quality and talent. After having picked up only 4 points from their opening six games in the Premier League, Bilic’s side have picked up 6 in the last two and will look to extend that run when they visit Everton on Sunday.