Cole Palmer fires Chelsea back into top four but Enzo Maresca still has problems to solve

CHELSEA 2-1 WEST HAM: Cole Palmer helped Chelsea backmost into the apical 4 by forcing an ain extremity arsenic Graham Potter's Stamford Bridge instrumentality ended successful a decision that had positives

It was unconvincing and Enzo Maresca volition proceed to accent that his squad stay a agelong mode from a Champions League return.

But aft the Chelsea caput manager precocious lamented his side’s penchant for letting leads slip, helium volition person taken assurance from however they battled backmost against a gritty West Ham to determination up to fourth.

With an hr gone it looked similar Irons brag Graham Potter would bask saccharine redemption against the nine that sacked him aft 7 hard months.

Jarrod Bowen had enactment them successful beforehand precocious successful the archetypal fractional arsenic Chelsea again struggled to beryllium clinical.

But a quartet of substitutions aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional alongside Cole Palmer’s continued brilliance turned the derby around.

Pedro Neto fired location the leveller from a rebound earlier Palmer danced his mode into the punishment country and forced an ain extremity retired of the unlucky Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

West Ham’s signifier whitethorn person been blimpish but they pressed hungrily with some Bowen and Mohamed Kudus charging guardant astatine the sniff of immoderate Chelsea dawdling.

And the show of Filip Jorgensen, who replaced error-prone Robert Sanchez successful the location goal, miscontrolling an aboriginal walk offered the visitors content that they could capitalise.

Bowen, backmost aft 5 weeks retired from a fractured foot, offered the game’s archetypal effort connected people erstwhile trying his luck from an acute space that Jorgensen had covered.

But Chelsea ever looked the much creative, adjacent if 45 minutes passed earlier Alphonse Areola made a save.

Palmer was blocked by Vladimir Coufal earlier Noni Madueke whipped a whisker wide aft a clever done shot from Nicolas Jackson.

Palmer drilled implicit from range, Enzo Fernandez tried his luck and Aaron Cresswell chopped retired a Jadon Sancho centre erstwhile respective successful bluish were queuing up down him.

Yet location frustrations were visibly gathering nearing the interval arsenic Kudus brought different prevention retired of Jorgensen and Sancho struck precocious and wide astatine the different end.

Then came Bowen’s sucker punch.

Areola punted a agelong walk for Tomas Soucek to sound down towards Kudus and Levi Colwill.

But the Chelsea centre fractional could not woody with the unit and sent a anemic walk successful from his near flank for Bowen to gratefully intercept.

His decorativeness was a beauty, stitched into the bottommost close corner.

Areola was called into meaningful goalkeeping enactment successful added clip by getting a beardown manus to a Palmer free-kick that looked destined for the apical close corner.

The French stopper smothered different Palmer changeable moments later.

Emerson and Cresswell some drilled first-time strikes implicit earlier Maresca introduced Neto, Marc Guiu and Christopher Nkunku to a reshuffled attack.

And Neto levelled erstwhile driving location a rebound aft Enzo Fernandez’s effort was blocked by Wan-Bissaka.

Kudus directed a escaped header disconnected the station - though helium would person been flagged offside - arsenic West Ham pushed to retake the lead.

But each their hard enactment was undone by a nonaccomplishment to adjacent Palmer down arsenic his flash crossed extremity took a large deflection disconnected Wan-Bissaka and the shot spun implicit Areola and in.

Kudus saw an effort to equalise blocked 4 minutes into added time.

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