There was an end of season feel to Chelsea's first half against West Ham, and chances were few and far between both sides, leaving the Stamford Bridge atmosphere tepid. West Ham's supporters punctuated those moments with chances about Declan Rice and Frank Lampard, showing some contrasting views, of which the accuracy may have been questionable.
What was not open for discussion is that the Blues would need to find another gear in the second period if they hoped to earn three points. They showed hints as Michael Oliver got things back underway. Opportunities were rarely forthcoming for much of the afternoon until the Blues energy seemed to up with greater pressing the Chelsea faithful responded in kind too.
Timo Werner came close on occasion, but there was still not a great sense of a goal until Romelu Lukaku won a penalty when Craig Dawson was sent off for hauling him down. Jorginho stepped up but could not covert as the Blues pressed on with mere minutes remaining.
READ MORE: Chelsea vs West Ham highlights: Christian Pulisic saves the day as Chelsea take the 1-0 victory
Marcos Alonso's precision cross to the perfectly timed run of Christian Pulisic was enough for the American to dispatch and earn Tuchel's men their first home victory since facing Newcastle United in March. football.london takes a look at the moments you might have missed from the victory below:
Romelu Lukaku warm embrace
Often ahead of Premier League matches, as players return to their respective dressing rooms following their warm-ups, you will see friends reunite and perhaps share a laugh or two before becoming enemies for the afternoon. Bonds can be formed through times spent at academies, former clubs or even on international duty.
Ahead of the win over West Ham, however, Lukaku shared a nice moment with the Irons' third goalkeeper Darren Randolph. The pair firmly embraced outside of the Stamford Bridge tunnel. There's no immediately obvious connection between the duo, but they appeared to receive each other like old friends.
Cesar Azpilicueta changing boots
It appears the Spaniard made a very early mistake against the Hammers as the veteran found himself frustrated on the floor of his own box. Marcos Alonso made the call clear to the bench as his teammate sat on the ground, with the wing-back looking for some urgency.
With a brief flurry of activity on the bench, Azpulucueta had soon ran over to the tunnel from the penalty box in his socks to change over his boots, in one of the more entertaining aspects of the opening half.
At full-time, Azpilicueta once again made his way over to the sidelines, but this time to hand his shirt to a young fan, who had been holding a sign hoping to earn the Chelsea's captain top. A nice moment following a late win.
Member of the consortium at Stamford Bridge
Sebastian Coe was present at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon to take in Chelsea's win against West Ham. The Olympic champions and President of World Athletics is involved in the consortium led by Martin Broughton, who is looking to take over the club from Roman Abramovich.
Coe is said to be a lifelong Chelsea supporter and has been touted as having a place on the Blues' board. The former middle-distance runner endorsed Broughton's bid citing their fandom of the club and season tickets in the Shed End.
The group are in competition with bids fronted by Todd Boehly and Stephen Pagliuca, and earlier in the week, it was confirmed that Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams would be contributing financially to the purchase if Broughton's bid is successful. Tuchel reflected on the duo's inclusion in his pre-match press conference: "I can tell you not more than that I am a big admirer of both of them. Fantastic sports personalities on the court, on the racetrack and off. They take responsibility as human beings and are outstanding sports figures in what they do. They have our biggest and my biggest respect. I have absolutely no insight into the proceeding and what role they play. I would not like to comment."
What Thomas Tuchel shouted to Michael Oliver
After an uncharacteristic afternoon of Tuchel being fairly glued to his seat in the dugout for the opening 60 minutes, the German coach could take it no more. As the Blues started to find their groove, the 48-year-old could not contain his frustrations any longer when N'Golo Kante was not awarded a free-kick.
"Six times!" came Tuchel's call to fourth official Peter Bankes, as he held his fingers out to emphasise the point. It wasn't long before those frustrations rose to the surface once when Declan Rice was awarded a free kick in a similar position. The call that was sent to Michael Oliver in this instance: "This is a joke! It's a joke!" It was clear the crowd agreed. Thankfully for the Blues, they were able to handle business.
