Chelsea will have left the London Stadium with a familiar feeling on Saturday afternoon. It was another draw for the Blues after Joao Felix's first goal for the club was cancelled out by former defender Emerson Palmieri's equaliser.
In what has been customary for Graham Potter's side this season, Chelsea struggled to create many clear chances as West Ham largely sat back. Neither team managed a shot on target in the second period but the Blues will nevertheless feel hard done by after Craig Pawson failed to award a penalty when Conor Gallagher's shot struck the hand of Tomas Soucek.
Chelsea started with some forward fluency with hints of blossoming partnerships emerging, as five January signings featured in the starting XI for the clash against the Irons. However, Potter was left looking to more familiar prospects at the introduction of Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech, Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell to inspire a second half breakthrough.
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The final moment of cutting edge was simply not present, however, although Potter believes some progress could be seen in the clash. football.london takes a look at what we learned from the draw.
Depth stands out but isn't enough
While Chelsea had eight players unavailable for the London Stadium clash they still came into the game with figures such as Mount, Chilwell, Ziyech and Gallagher on the bench. They couldn't even find a place for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kalidou Koulibaly or Lewis Hall there.
West Ham on the other hand could not fill their bench despite naming two goalkeepers on it. Though they did show some quality in being able to replace the injured Lucas Paqueta with Tomas Soucek, who had a big impact on the final outcome, though maybe not in the way people expected.
Despite the high quality support players Chelsea had to rely upon, they could not re-energise their efforts to find a winning goal. Progress on the training pitch to ensure the team gels remains the most important thing.
Why Ruben Loftus-Cheek started
Having not made the squad for Chelsea's match against Fulham, it showed quite the turnaround to see Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the starting line-up for West Ham. Potter opted to go without a central midfielder on the bench against the Cottagers, with Gallagher and Mount providing the supporting role to Enzo Fernandez at Stamford Bridge.
That duo dropped to the bench as Potter looked to facilitate the returning Felix, and opted for a midfield pairing that did not have the same level of defensive protection. Having returned from an injury suffered ahead of the World Cup, Loftus-Cheek was able to make his first start of 2023 to provide a more all-round contribution. His physical presence appears to have come into Potter's thinking too.
Potter explained ahead of kick-off: "Ruben Loftus-Cheek provides a little bit of balance for the attacking players. Against West Ham you have to be strong in the boxes, defend set-pieces, so he helps us in that area as well."
Joao Felix is the real deal
Before a red card against Fulham, Felix looked to provide everything that Chelsea had been missing for more than a year. His opening 20 minutes against West Ham showed more of the same.
The Atletico Madrid loanee jinked and jived his way around the pitch, connecting with Kai Havertz and Mykhailo Mudryk. He would scoop the ball and bend it to his will across the pitch and produced a smart finish from Fernandez's exquisite pass, and had another goal ruled out for offside.
The 23-year-old looks set to be very influential in the Blues forward line, recording a great deal more touches (66) than his forward partners and recording more shots and key passes than any of his teammates. His influence may have waned as the game became more frantic, but onlookers will be wishing he was already at Stamford Bridge permanently.
Felix noted that there is no purchase option in the agreement, though it is understand that Chelsea could look at a deal in the summer. His two appearances so far, could make that look even more appealing, even with Christopher Nkunku expected to arrive.
"There isn't a purchase option. Chelsea would have to reach an agreement with Atletico," said the forward earlier in the week.
"I've only been here a few weeks, a month. I am knowing everything [about his contract situation] , I am very comfortable, but the future, nobody knows. I don't know what is going to happen in my life, nor is it known what will become of Cholo [Simeone], as I told you, we will have to wait until June."
Potter may have been cautious over his potential but is importance is already looking clear to see.
James can play 90
Reece James' Chelsea return has been carefully managed after he was injured against Bournemouth in his first game back after December. He did not fly back into first team training and football and against Fulham he played for 59 minutes.
It would have been easy to see a similar outcome against West Ham, particularly with Borussia Dortmund to follow in the Champions League. James did not look up to his usual high standards for much of the game, though performed solidly outside of his role in Emerson's goal.
Cesar Azpilicueta even seemed to be getting ready to replace the Cobham product at one stage, but James ultimately remained on the pitch. That seemed to be a wise decision as James seemed to grown as the game waged on and his fitness held strong as he provided more crosses from advanced positions and patrolled the right flank.
That is a positive sign for the Blues moving forward, as James drove much of his side's build-up play and Potter will be hoping to see a similar trajectory with Chilwell. The Blues boss is very aware that his team is not yet in the right place on an individual level, however, and knows there is more to come from the likes of his right-back.
He said following the draw: "You can also see where the work is. Which is getting Reece James up to speed, which is getting Ben Chilwell up to speed, which is getting Ruben Loftus-Cheek up to speed, which is getting Wesley Fofana up to speed, which is getting N'Golo Kante up to speed, which is adapting Mudryk to the Premier League, which is adapting Madueke into the Premier League, which is adapting Benoit Badiashile to the Premier League, which is adapting Joao Felix to the Premier League.
"That's just how it is. That's how I see it and I'm just being honest to say how it is. I completely understand that people are frustrated if you don't win."
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