Stamford Bridge was mutinous at half-time and in disbelief at the end. A pattern is developing under Liam Rosenior. Chelsea’s new head coach messed up his starting lineup against Napoli on Wednesday but turned it around. He did it again when his side were 2-0 down and in danger of unravelling against West Ham.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were on course for a major win in their fight against relegation after goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville. Chelsea were all over the place before a triple substitution from Rosenior. Wesley Fofana and João Pedro came on to combine for the goal that made it 2-1. Marc Cucurella, another substitute, equalised and there was an explosion of noise when João Pedro cut the ball back for Enzo Fernández to sweep home the winner in added time.
West Ham, five points below Nottingham Forest in 17th place, ended in disarray. Nuno played it beautifully during the first half but his negativity caught up with him in the end. West Ham have now dropped 17 points from winning positions and could not handle the disappointment. Tempers boiled over after Fernández’s goal, a mass brawl breaking out and ending with West Ham losing Jean-Clair Todibo to a red card after the defender appeared to throttle João Pedro.
