West Ham United fell to a harsh 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
In the final 30 minutes of what had been a rather glum tie until that point, Michail Antonio’s first league goal of the season put David Moyes’ side in front, only for Chelsea substitutes Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz to both notch to secure a 2-1 win for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
West Ham thought they’d equalised in the 90th minute when Maxwel Cornet pounced on an Edouard Mendy fumble to convert, only for VAR to controversially disallow the goal, with Jarrod Bowen judged to have fouled the Blues’ goalkeeper.
READ MORE: West Ham player ratings: Maxwel Cornet suffers VAR heartbreak in late Chelsea defeat
As the Hammers fell to their first defeat in four matches in all competitions, here are five of the major talking points from the defeat in the capital.
A “ridiculously bad” VAR decision
There’s no bigger talking point from the London derby than what transpired in the dying embers of the game.
Substitute Cornet, who had hit the post seconds after coming on at 1-1, looked to be the derby day hero when curling a sublime strike into the top corner past a grounded Mendy and an otherwise bewildered looking Blues back line.
However, once it was declared that a VAR check was in place and that referee Andrew Madley was called over to look at the pitchside monitor, there was only ever going to be one outcome.
Bowen chased down a loose backwards header from Reece James to Mendy, only for the Blues’ Senegalese stopper to fumble the ball before Cornet intercepted and converted with aplomb.
The goal was disallowed due to Bowen’s trailing leg catching Mendy and the Blues’ goalkeeper going down, suggesting he could not get up as Cornet thought he made it 2-2.
After the game, Moyes branded the decision as “ridiculously bad” and admitted he had lost faith in referees and VAR following the decision.
It was an extremely harsh decision and to anyone not watching the game, it will have just appeared to be West Ham’s fourth defeat from six league games.
The scoreline definitely does not tell the full story and the Hammers definitely can take encouragement from the performance. It will be a bitter pill to swallow, but one harsh decision has proved to be the deciding factor in the tie.
Opening the account
There was a first league goal of the season for Antonio against the Blues, a true poacher’s finish from a yard out off the end of Declan Rice’s pass as Chelsea failed to clear at a corner.
Antonio had started the season poorly, but after impressing in Wednesday’s draw to Tottenham Hotspur by setting up Tomas Soucek’s equalising goal, he went one better and gave the Irons the lead with just 27 minutes to go in the tie.
With Gianluca Scamacca missing the last two games through injury, Antonio, in his place, has put on two really good displays.
Something that Moyes has not had much of in recent seasons is the ability to rotate his strikers and now with Antonio and Scamacca at the helm and both men on two goals for the season so far in all competitions, David Moyes can take plenty of encouragement from his two primary striker options.
Maxwel Cornet’s cameo
Ivorian winger Maxwel Cornet had been an unused substitute in each of the last two matches, but came on in the London derby to big effect.
Replacing Pablo Fornals with just four minutes remaining, Cornet came close to making it 2-1 when his header, and first touch of the game, crashed off the far post, with Chelsea countering and going 2-1 ahead on the break of that miss through Havertz.
He then thought he had levelled the game with a really well taken finish and although he did not have a goalkeeper to beat, there were plenty of blue shirts around him not able to stop him from converting.
With a Europa Conference League meeting with FCSB to come next on Thursday night, Cornet is likely to be among the players given a chance to shine and if his showing is anything like his late cameo at Chelsea, West Ham’s Romanian opponents best be wary.
No reason to panic
West Ham currently sit 18th in the Premier League but really, their recent showings have been more encouraging than the points they have on the board.
While defeats to Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion were poor, against Nottingham Forest and the Blues they deserved at least a point, and could well have nicked all three late on against Spurs in midweek.
Of the Irons’ six league games so far, three have been against the ‘big six’ with the Irons only having meetings with Liverpool and Manchester United in the back end of October prior to the World Cup.
The next five league games, with an international break sandwiched in the middle, see West Ham take on Newcastle United, Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham and Southampton, a largely favourable run, on paper at least.
Those five games provide Moyes and his side a chance to put together a good run of form and if they do so, by the time they head to Anfield on October 19, they could well be much higher up the table than they are at present.
The Conference League shuffle
Next job for Moyes’ men is a meeting with FCSB and if the two victories over Viborg last month are anything to go by, Moyes is likely to shuffle the pack.
If Scamacca is back in the squad, he could well be thrown into the mix from the start, while Flynn Downes, Cornet, Angelo Ogbonna and Manuel Lanzini are among the other names hopeful of a midweek game.
That will allow some of West Ham’s key players a rest ahead of the meeting with Newcastle in a week’s time.
With over eight days from full-time, until the next league game with the Magpies, there could be a good break for certain players, like Rice and Lukasz Fabianski, before hosting money rich Newcastle.
READ NEXT:
West Ham’s best 20-man Premier League squad until January after Lucas Paqueta signs
David Moyes explains why injuries led to deadline day transfer hunt as Craig Dawson stays put
Every word West Ham's David Moyes said on Chelsea, transfers, Lucas Paqueta and Premier League
David Moyes sends Premier League message after late rescheduling of Chelsea vs West Ham
David Moyes provides West Ham updates on Ben Johnson and Ginluaca Scamacca ahead of Chelsea
