Chelsea further cemented their position in third place with a lacklustre win against West Ham, which needed a 90th-minute goal from Christian Pulisic to turn an otherwise deeply frustrating afternoon.
James Robson was on hand to rate Thomas Tuchel’s side...
Edouard Mendy 7
Excellent handling all round and came up with an important save to deny Yarmolenko in the second half. Bossed his area.
Trevoh Chalobah 6
Wasn’t even in the original starting line-up until Christensen had to pull out. Solid and even had Chelsea fans out of their seats with one long ranger.
Thiago Silva 7
Must have wondered if this was a taste of the future without Rudiger and Christensen either side. Tried to breathe life into Chelsea by upping the urgency after the break.
Cesar Azpilicueta 6
In the right place on the occasions West Ham looked to break. Stuck to his task well and did not look like being beaten.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek 6
Looked to get into areas to hurt West Ham and seemed to have more energy than many in blue, but did not do enough when there.
N’Golo Kante 6
Won so many balls in and around the edge of West Ham’s box to keep the pressure on. Let himself down with some of his decision-making, but close to scoring with a deflected second half effort.
Jorginho 5
Woeful penalty almost cost Chelsea the win. Saw plenty of the ball, but rarely opened West Ham up with his usual quality of passing.
Marcos Alonso 7
Got into dangerous position to deliver quality crosses and produced the key moment with his cutback for Pulisic’s winner.
Mason Mount 6
Could not find that killer pass or driving run into the box, which typified Chelsea’s lack of cutting edge for the majority of the match.
Kai Havertz 5
Afforded so little room, but perhaps could have been cleverer with his movement in such a congested box.
Timo Werner 5
Left on the periphery too often. When he did get into the box, he fluffed what few chances fell his way.
Substitutes
Hakim Ziyech (Loftus-Cheek 76) 6
Came on and made a difference when running at West Ham and committing defenders.
Christian Pulisic (Werner 76) 6
That is the impact you want from a substitute. Cool finish to get Chelsea out of jail. Might have earned himself some more minutes between now and the end of the season with that goal.
Romelu Lukaku (Havertz 76) 6
Impacted the game with his aggression and directness, which Chelsea lacked throughout. Won the penalty that should have put his side ahead.
