What a match, aye? Chelsea opened their 2016/17 campaign with a 2-1 win over West Ham on Monday night. It was Antonio Conte’s first Premier League win.
It took the Blues 10 minutes or so, but they were finally able to settle in and really started to take control of the match around the mid-way point in the opening half.
With zero goals for or against in the first half, Chelsea clearly dominated, maintaining 61% possession and creating seven chances.
Coming out for the second half scoreless, Chelsea carried their momentum in to the second half and were rewarded for West Ham’s laziness in defence and given a penalty kick just two minutes in. Eden Hazard smashed it home, recording Chelsea’s 5,000th goal in the English top flight, and giving the Blues a 1-0 lead.
Chelsea kept on pressing. As it got closer and closer to full-time, it became obvious that one goal wouldn’t be enough. Then it happened: a breakdown on a corner kick and West Ham equalised in the 77th minute.
After showing flashbacks of Guus Hiddink, Conte brought on Pedro in the 80th minute, then made a double swoop in the 85th – bringing on Michy Batshuayi and Victor Moses for Oscar and Eden Hazard.
Four minutes later, Diego Costa scored the winner and chaos ensued at the Bridge.
It may have only been one match, but we learned a lot about this Chelsea team. Here goes…
