Andy Carroll came off the West Ham United bench to hand Chelsea their fifth Barclays Premier League defeat of the season, going down 2-1 at the Boleyn Ground.
Mauro Zarate gave West Ham the lead in the 17th minute, before Kurt Zouma had seen his header cleared off the line by Manuel Lanzini. Chelsea overcame being reduced to 10 men after a second yellow card before half time for Nemanja Matic when Gary Cahill equalised from a corner.
With Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, watching from the stands after being dismissed Carroll rose highest to nod in Aaron Cresswell’s cross in the 79th minute to earn the three points and lift West Ham to second place ahead of Arsenal’s late match against Everton.
Dimitri Payet and Diego Costa fired early chances over the top but the Frenchman fared better with a 30-yard free-kick in the 17th minute that required Asmir Begovic to leap to his right and claw the ball behind for a corner.
Payet’s delivery from the resultant set-piece was not cleared effectively by Costa and Zarate took full advantage, drilling a first-time shot into the back of the net from the edge of the area.
Chelsea dominated possession but struggled to create goalscoring opportunities, with Adrian not called upon until the 33rd minute when he had to parry Willian’s free-kick away from the bottom corner.
Two minutes later Chelsea came within inches of restoring parity when Zouma steered a Cesc Fabregas corner on target, only for Lanzini to clear it off the line.
The Argentine midfielder nearly added to Chelsea’s misery six minutes before the interval but, following a clever flick-on from Payet, his chip floated over the top.
The match did swing further away from Chelsea in the 44th minute, however, when Matic received a second yellow card for a foul on Diafra Sakho, while John Terry and Fabregas were booked for their protests and goalkeeping coach Silvino Lauro was dismissed from the dugout by referee Jon Moss. Moss issued another red to Mourinho during the interval with the Portuguese having to watch the second period from the stand.
That did not hinder Chelsea’s approach and 11 minutes after the restart they drew level. Willian’s corner fell kindly for Cahill, who pounced first to rifle the ball beyond Adrian and into the back of the net.
Chances became minimal for both sides as the visitors adopted a more defensive, patient style of play. But in the 79th minute substitute Carroll, who replaced Zarate, looped a header beyond Begovic from Cresswell’s lofted delivery from the left.
The victory was just West Ham’s second in five home matches this term, while Chelsea’s troublesome start continues.
Chelsea defender Gary Cahill: “Not many words are being said at the moment. I’m sure we’ll reflect in next day or so. We worked really hard at 10 men and had the majority of the play in the second half. It’s a summary of our season at the minute.”
source:premierleague.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 