Chelsea vs West Ham United: Christian Pulisic’s late winner breaks West Ham's hearts

Christian Pulisic scored a late winner to send Chelsea fans wild and leave West Ham United’s supporters disappointed. He made up for Jorginho’s penalty miss to give the Blues a hard-fought 1-0 win over 10-man West Ham. The match, which was low on chances, came to life towards the end. Craig Dawson got a red card for bringing down substitute Romelu Lukaku for the penalty. However, Jorginho, who is normally reliable from the spot, hit it straight into Lukasz Fabianski’s grasp with only five minutes remaining. Just when it seemed like the match will end goalless, Marcos Alonso’s cross was met by Pulisic who found the back of the net to send Stamford Bridge into a celebratory mood. 

Thomas Tuchel’s side ended their three-match losing streak at home and more or less secure their top-four status. The Blues now have 65 points from 32 Premier League games, while West Ham United missed the opportunity to climb above Manchester United. They have 52 points from 34 matches. West Ham will now switch their attention to Thursday’s Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Earlier, it was a slow start by both sides. Not many opportunities were created to threaten the opposition’s goal. The first real chance fell to N’Golo Kante, however, the Frenchman dragged his effort wide. The half ended with neither team having a shot on target.

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Chelsea start the second half briskly

Chelsea started the second period with more intent. Timo Werner got the first opportunity but it was blocked by Craig Dawson. Soon the Blues pushed harder to open the scoring, however, the visitors held their defensive shape well to frustrate the home crowd.

Then, Yarmolenko did well to force Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy into a double save from close range. With the home side pushing for the first goal, gaps began to open in their defence which was being exposed by the visitors in counter-attacks. 

The match came to full life towards the end when Romelu Lukaku ran onto a Thiago Silva header. But he was stopped in his path and Dawson was adjudged to have pulled the striker back. Referee Michael Oliver gave a red card, as he denied the Belgian a goalscoring opportunity.

Jorginho had the chance to open the score, however, Fabianski read the spot-kick precisely by diving right to keep the score goalless. It was a big let-off for the visitors, as the game neared the full-time whistle.

However, Chelsea found a way in the end. Alonso, who got the ball in the left flank, delivered a beautiful low cross, which was struck by the American the first time into the bottom corner. Chelsea now have 65 points from 32 games. They are seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, having played a game less.