Premier LeagueChelsea 3-2 West Ham United
Saturday, 31st January 2026
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread
After three wins on the spin, West Ham were brought back down to earth as Club World Cup champions Chelsea took all three points with a comeback win and a 3-2 victory.
The Hammers were outstanding in the first half and took a deserved 2-0 lead into the break, but a raft of Chelsea changes and some fading legs in claret and blue saw the home side turn possession into goals, pinning the away side into their own final third and beating them into submission with a consistent dominance that eventually broke the resistance of a determined and gritty West Ham.It was the most painful way to lose, slowly seeing the lead fade and then conceding in stoppage time as Stamford Bridge roared, almost embarrassingly so after booing their side off at half time. For the first time in the Premier League, Chelsea had come back from 2-0 down at the break to win a game.
Nuno and his side will have plenty to take heart from, but it won't feel like that in the aftermath, points slipping through their fingers and an opportunity to not only make it four wins on the spin, but also to intensify the pressure on the clubs above had come and gone.
The manager made one change from the team that had won the last three, with Diouf returning to the starting line-up in place of Ollie Scarles. He could also welcome a new signing to his bench, with Traore straight into the squad after joining this week.
The three wins that have lifted the energy and confidence in the team have come against sides struggling in one way or another, whether it be a listless Spurs, a Sunderland team who struggle on the road, or Championship QPR in the FA Cup. This was a much bigger test, a Chelsea side with a new manager and pushing to qualify for the Champions League once again.
But Rosenior's side had fought hard for victory in midweek, beating Napoli 3-2 in Italy. And that suited West Ham's recent form of fast starts and breathless opening 45-minute displays.
Chelsea made seven changes, but whilst that may have helped freshen their side up, it also took away some of the quality. The Hammers looked sharper throughout the first half, and whilst Chelsea may have dominated the ball, it was West Ham who were quite clearly the better side.
The work rate of that new front two was key, the pair hassling defenders and midfielders whenever they could. Pablo created an opening for Castellanos inside the first two minutes, winning the ball back inside the Chelsea half and feeding it forward for his partner, but the Argentine struggled to get power on his effort and passed it directly to Sanchez.
A star of the first half was Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who was sharp and aware in defence, but pushed forward ambitiously with Bowen. It was that combination that gave West Ham a bit of a surprise lead after eight minutes.
A long ball was won in the air by Bowen and picked up by Wan-Bissaka. He controlled and moved forward, before passing square to Bowen again. The pass was a little behind Bowen, who took a touch that turned him around, facing away from goal. Instead of controlling further, Bowen used his swinging momentum to curl a cross towards goal.
It bent perfectly over and around the defenders, just out of reach of the extended foot of Pablo, and kept curling to bounce in front of goal and into the inside of the sidenetting in the far corner. Sanchez dived late and could only watch the ball beat him to give West Ham the lead.
It didn't change the rhythm of the game or the West Ham game plan. They stayed firm, defending from 1-11, in their 4-4-2 shape. By 20 minutes gone, Chelsea had had 80% possession, but there was very little threat carried with their possession. In contrast, when West Ham won the ball back, they were primed to pounce.
Castellanos should have done better with a chance in the box, rolled down the right side by Bowen, but he smashed right at Sanchez at the near post when through.
The Hammers spent a long time defending, but they have started to score goals in a way that has given some hope they may still be able to escape relegation. The performance warranted the two-goal lead they took as half-time approached.
This was a fantastic goal, started by a peach of a pass from the centre of defence by Mateus Fernandes. His left-footed diagonal found Bowen, who took it down in his stride and then rolled it forward in front of the run of Wan-Bissaka, who flew by on the underlap and into the Chelsea box.
The right back smartly cut the ball back towards the penalty spot, and it was Summerville coming in off his wide left position to meet it, sweeping it home with power to beat Sanchez to his left and give his side a 2-0 lead that may have surprised some at the start of the game, but was completely deserved on the basis of their performance. It's now four from four for Summerville, a player who seemed to completely lack end product before a goal against QPR kickstarted his season.
West Ham went looking for a third, a drilled ball across the face of goal nearly finding a striker when cleared from a yard out. They ended the half with a huge chance, if only Wan-Bissaka had taken on the shot to round off his near-perfect 45 minutes.
The full back was into the box and clear to shoot, but tried to play a pass instead, one that was cut out by the sliding defender, a defender that wouldn't have been able to get to a shot if he'd hit it.
Still, half-time came with a 2-0 West Ham lead, and was welcomed by the home crowd with boos that rang out around the whole stadium.
Chelsea came back out with three more changes to add to the enforced exit of Gittens for Neto in the first half. Hato, Garnacho and Badiashile had all struggled, and they were all replaced by better players as Cucurella, Joao Pedro and Wesley Fofana were introduced.
Whilst West Ham kept some of their energy in the first 5-10 minutes, Chelsea took over once more, and this time they were able to maintain it without The Hammers forcing them back with fast counters.
Fernandes may have done better with a stinging drive from the edge of the box, not hitting it into a corner and making it easy for Sanchez to throw his hands out and palm away.
Pablo and Castellanos started to look spent, and Soucek and Fernandes both lost their energy, too. It became all about how long the West Ham defence could hold out. As everyone will know, this has not been a season where this defence can be relied upon.
The last gasp seemed to come as Bowen missed a huge chance after Fernandes rolled a freekick behind the defence and through to the captain as everyone else set up for the cross.
Bowen was in and close to goal, but hit it right at Sanchez with the whole goal to aim for. It likely wouldn't have mattered, as it appeared he was offside anyway, but it was from here that Chelsea really turned the screw.
Delap had their first chance, trying to cutely glance one off the outside of his boot as a drilled ball by Cucurella rolled across him, but it was enough only to guide it wide. That was the warning shot, and two minutes later, Chelsea were back in the game.
As can often be the case when teams get set into a shape and used to the men they're marking, chaos came when a centre back moved forward and joined the attack. Fofana glided up the pitch with the ball under little pressure, and by the time the defence reacted, it was too late.
The French defender curled a ball to the far post from the right side of the box, and Joao Pedro peeled away from his man to artfully guide the ball back across goal. With Areola committed jumping across his line with the cross, his momentum took him away and all he could do was watch as the ball bounced and dribbled into the far corner to make it 2-1.
Stamford Bridge had hope now, and West Ham were shaken. They thought they'd equalised with 25 minutes to go, a Caicedo rocket from the edge of the box fired diagonally towards the top corner, only for Areola to pull out a quite marvellous save, full stretch to his right to tip it over with his fingertips.
But The Hammers were pinned in and could find no respite. Nuno reacted, but whilst his change was understandable, it did nothing to stop the one-way flow of traffic. On came Kilman for Pablo as West Ham went to a very clear back five. Just short of five minutes after the change, Chelsea were level.
This one came with some controversy, although little fanfare was made of it. A cross from the left found Gusto at the far post, and his header somehow looped over Areola from an incredibly tight angle. Kilman managed to clear off the line, somehow, flicking it up, and it deflected off Delap's head and onto the bar.
It dropped into the six-yard box, and with Mavropanos having fallen, Cucurella was the first to react, throwing himself at the ball to diving header home from a few yards out and make things level with 20 minutes to play.
VAR checked, and it ignored two fouls from Delap. First the striker pulled down Mavropanos as the ball flew to Gusto, and then he put two hands into the back of Kilman and gave him a little push as the defender was in the air to head the ball away.
The officials seemed to check the second but ignore the first, and fine margins will not go West Ham's way this season when VAR gets involved. Minor as it was, the push was perfectly timed to unbalance Kilman, whilst Delap had clearly pulled down Mavropanos, which gave Cucurella the chance to get in ahead of him.
Wilson replaced the tired Castellanos with 15 minutes remaining, before Traore and Scarles came on for Bowen and Diouf, but there was only one way this game was going. That being said, the best chance late on may well have been one that fell to Todibo, although the tiniest reaction time he had to hit does excuse him.
A free kick angled to a Soucek run wide in the area saw him first volley, and then drill a low ball into the six-yard box as the ball came back to him. It flicked off the defender in front of him and came to Todibo, who instinctively tried to steer at goal, but didn't make the cleanest connection as it rifled off his foot and hit the outside of the post and went wide.
West Ham were still desperate in defence, and could have been the makers of their own downfall when Mavropanos headed a cross down in his own box and directly to Palmer, only for Kilman to block well in front of goal.
But two minutes into stoppage time, hearts were broken. Chelsea came forward, and when Joao Pedro stepped away from Kilman, the defender didn't react to squeeze the space, allowing a pass into the striker. He quickly cut it back to Fernandez waltzing into the box, and whilst he scuffed his finish, he did enough to put it into one corner as Areola put too much weight into moving across his goal. The ball bounced in, Chelsea's support erupted, and West Ham sank to their knees.
It was a cruel finish to a game they had deserved at least a point from. If they had got that third goal they deserved in the opening 50 minutes, things may well have been different.
There was still time for an ugly end to the game, and a red card for Todibo. Traore was fouled in the corner and pushed into the linesman by Joao Pedro. The big winger went after him, but it was Todibo was showed the most aggression, flying at the Brazilian striker, having clashed with him earlier in the game.
There were scuffles all over, a crowd of players going at each other, but Todibo had grabbed Joao Pedro by the throat as the Chelsea player cowered away. Whilst others had hands high, there was no mistaking Todibo's intent.
VAR called the referee over, and Anthony Taylor took their advice to send off the centre back. West Ham may have been lucky that Mavropanos wasn't red carded, too, having thrown a bit of a slap at Palmer's face, but he made no connection and may argue he was swatting at a hand. Traore, too, was very physical, and got off lightly.
It was understandable in the emotions of the game, but losing their cool will be costly. Todibo misses three games now, a red for violent conduct carrying a harsher suspension.
In what was definitely the toughest game of the month, West Ham can be happy that it was one they performed well in, and can take heart from how petrified Chelsea were of them in a fantastic first half.
But points are what matter most, and these were more points dropped from a winning position. The performance could still prove valuable enough to lift confidence and remind these players that they can threaten almost anyone in the league. How they react is where Nuno earns his paycheque.
Manager's Rating
Nuno Espirito Santo: 6/10 He's got the bench that he's got, but it was the midfield being overrun rather than the centre of defence, and the Kilman change didn't improve that. He may have wanted more presence to defend crosses, but he should consider getting in a Magassa or Potts to try stop the cross, rather than more defenders to try head it. Went too defensive too early, and should have considered either midfielder or even Traore for Pablo.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Chelsea match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Alphonse AreolaA wonder save in there, but it could be argued he's too easily beaten on all three goals, and still shows very little command of his area. Improving on corners, though.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
His first half was arguably his best at the club, completely shutting down Garnacho in defence, covering the back post well on crosses, and then flying forward to threaten up the right wing.
El Hadji Malick Diouf
Didn't offer the threat going forward that Wan-Bissaka did, but then the play did build from the right with Bowen more than it did on the left. Defended reasonably well and had no issues with Gittens, Neto or Palmer.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
One big mistake didn't prove costly, and he was strong at the back, seeming to enjoy the challenge Delap presented him. But he might wonder if he'd have done better on the first goal.
Jean-Clair Todibo
Whilst he defended well, and was unlucky not to score, the red card in stoppage time was foolish and immature. He's been the best of the centre backs and now misses three games when every point matters.
Tomas Soucek
Generally quite neat and tidy on the ball, and he does seem to know his limitations. Struggled in the second half, as they all did, and seemed to just be unable to stay with the Chelsea work through the middle.
Mateus Fernandes
A very good first half was met with a beaten second half, with the young midfielder looking absolutely knackered. His pass out to Bowen for the second goal was excellent and he had the better of the Chelsea midfield in the first half. Also created the big chance for Bowen, even if it would have been flagged eventually.
Pablo Felipe
A menace for Chelsea players in possession in their own half, and his attempt at getting onto Bowen's cross is what stops Sanchez being able to react earlier and make a save. Tired himself out after 65 minutes of nonstop work, he's a useful defender in forward areas that lacks a finesse.
Jarrod Bowen
Hopefully not injured when his ankle was stood on by a Chelsea player (ignored by the referee), Bowen found his connection with Wan-Bissaka again and they controlled the right wing in the first half. Another who tired from the hard work in the second, and whilst it was a surprise to see him go off, it was probably the right call.
Crysencio Summerville
A great goal, working very hard to make it into the box and onto the ball by Wan-Bissaka, and he played with confidence. He danced through players in tight spots and carried well to relieve pressure. Second half was lesser, but he did make runs that helped the defence, and might have made more if others hadn't faded and started to not make passes.
Valentin Castellanos
Has more skill and poise than Pablo, but had a couple chances he should have made more of. But he defended with vibrancy and intensity that made Chelsea falter for 45 minutes.
Substitutes
Max Kilman(Pablo 66') Very unlucky with the second goal, probably fouled, and stepped out of defence well a few times. But he should be closer to Joao Pedro on the winner.
Callum Wilson
(Castellanos 76') Didn't make any sort of impact and isn't a striker for a game where you need energy to defend on the front foot and a presence that holds the ball up.
Adama Traore
(Bowen 81') Did force Chelsea back a little and looked to push forward, but couldn't really find an end product.
Ollie Scarles
(Diouf 81') Came on and defended reasonably well, a few good challenges, but was troubled by Reece James on each occasion they met.
Mads Hermansen
Did not play.
Kyle Walker-Peters
Did not play.
Soungoutoo Magassa
Did not play.
Mohamadou Kante
Did not play.
Freddie Potts
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jean-Clair Todibo, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Pablo Felipe, Jarrod Bowen, Crysencio Summerville, Valentin Castellanos.Goals: Jarrod Bowen 7 Crysencio Summerville 36 0.
Booked: Ollie Scarles 0 Adama Traore 0 .
Sent Off: Jean-Clair Todibo 90 .
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto (James 81), Chalobah, Badiashile (Fofana 46), Hato (Cucurella 46), Caicedo, Fernandes (c), Gittens (Neto 26), Palmer, Garnacho (Pedro 46), Delap .
Subs not used: Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Santos, Guiu.
Goals: Pedro (57), Cucurella (70), Fernandes (90+2).
Booked: Caicedo, Fernandes, Pedro.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Attendance: 39,430.
Man of the Match: Jarrod Bowen.