Chelsea slumped to a surprising 2-1 loss against West Ham in their first encounter at the Hammers’ new London Stadium.
Antonio Conte made a host of changes for the trip to Stratford, with John Terry returning to the team for the first time since injuring his ankle against Swansea. Whilst youngsters Nathaniel Chalobah and Ola Aina both started. Conte made seven changes in total to the side that beat Manchester United at the weekend.
Conte’s faith in a rotated Chelsea squad was not rewarded, however – as Terry’s lack of pace was exploited in the 3-4-3 formation, whilst neither Aina nor Azpilicueta offered any attacking presence from wing-back. So it came as no surprise when West Ham took the lead through a Cheikhou Kouyate header in the 11th minute.
Chelsea continued to be laboured in possession following the goal – and despite Michy Batshuayi missing a glorious opportunity late on in the first-half, they went into the break one goal down.
West Ham all but sealed their place in the next round of the EFL Cup when Edmilson Fernandes fired home just three minutes into the second-half.
Chelsea brought on Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro in an attempt to forge a way back into the game – but still, they could not break through, with both Costa and Willian particularly guilty of missing clear-cut chances for the Blues.
Eden Hazard also hit the post as West Ham successfully fought off a late Chelsea onslaught.
Gary Cahill did, however, grab a late consolation goal for Chelsea with virtually the last kick of the game – as he hammered the ball into the roof of the net.
Here’re our player ratings from the defeat.
