Chelsea cannot buy a win at the moment. The big spenders were on the right path when João Félix displayed his glimmering talent, jabbing his new team into an early lead, but they soon lost their way. The dominance faded. Momentum slowed. It was too easy for West Ham to recover from a slow start and, when Graham Potter picks through a display that began well before descending into sloppiness, there will be concern at how his new-look Chelsea failed to summon any conviction during their pursuit of a winning goal.
Therein lies the problem for Potter as he strives to bed in all the unfamiliar faces in his bloated squad. Chelsea’s manager could dwell on an enjoyably impish display from Félix but overall his side were flat and confused. There was no drive during the second half. In fact Chelsea created nothing after Emerson Palmieri’s equaliser for West Ham, whose mini-revival has boosted their survival hopes. While this Chelsea project is in its infancy a run of two wins from 13 league games is far from satisfactory, particularly with this expensively assembled team so far off a place in the top four.
The disappointment was that Chelsea had unleashed the full force of their January spend, five of the newcomers in the team, the sense of change emphasised by them picking seven players under the age of 24 for the first time in a Premier League game. Here, with Todd Boehly watching on, was a glimpse of the future. Chelsea were lighter, quicker and the attacking patterns were sharper, the combinations between Kai Havertz, Félix and Mykhaylo Mudryk almost overwhelming West Ham at first.
Félix featuring for the first time since being sent off on his debut made a difference. Playing off Havertz, the Atlético Madrid loanee was at the heart of every Chelsea move. There was a bright idea behind every touch from Félix, who was denied by the tightest of offside calls when he put the ball in the net after nine minutes.
The pattern was set. Enzo Fernández was running midfield and West Ham’s worries deepened when a shoulder injury forced Lucas Paquetá to make way for Tomas Soucek. Alone in his technical area, David Moyes seethed at his team’s timidity. West Ham were too slow in possession and their only complaint when they fell behind was Craig Pawson’s decision not to penalise Mudryk’s tackle on Jarrod Bowen, who was still lying on the turf when Félix peeled off Nayef Aguerd and cushioned Fernández’s teasing cross past Lukasz Fabianski.
A first assist for Fernández and a first goal for Félix in Chelsea colours were reward for all those millions. No wonder Potter looked so delighted. He had taken the big call to drop Mason Mount and again left Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at home. The result was more fluency in attack; only another marginal offside stopped Havertz making it 2-0.
Just as against Newcastle last weekend, though, West Ham summoned some defiance. Bowen kept running behind Marc Cucurella, who was vulnerable at left-back. Michail Antonio, battling hard against Benoît Badiashile and Thiago Silva, forced Kepa Arrizabalaga to save at his near post.
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West Ham levelled two minutes later. Pushing higher, they recycled the ball on the right and Vladimir Coufal found room for a cross. Bowen flicked the right wing-back’s delivery on and Reece James could not react before Emerson, who left Chelsea last summer, bundled in the equaliser.
Chelsea responded, Noni Madueke and Félix testing Fabianski from long range, and West Ham needed Declan Rice to get through a lot of dirty work. But the question at the start of the second half was whether Chelsea, still without eight players through injury, could raise their level. Could Ruben Loftus-Cheek, starting in midfield for the first time since 6 November, push on? West Ham had found a better shape and were sticking tighter to Félix and Fernández, but they lacked quality on the ball, with Saïd Benrahma offering nothing.
With the game growing scrappy, both managers made changes. Chelsea’s fans cheered when Cucurella went off for Ben Chilwell. Mount and Hakim Ziyech replaced Mudryk and Madueke. West Ham stiffened their midfield, Flynn Downes replacing Benrahma.
The substitutions had little effect. Soucek, fortunate not to concede a late penalty when he handled a shot from Conor Gallagher, had a winner disallowed for offside. That was the only moment of joy for Chelsea’s fans during the second half. They have not seen an away win since October. At this rate they will not be watching Champions League football next season.
