Chelsea’s winning start to the season came to a stuttering end at London Stadium on Sunday as they were held to a goalless draw by a determined West Ham United side.
“We knew Chelsea would have a lot of the play, as they have all season, but to create the chances we created, that’s what let us down. All round it was a fantastic defensive performance; the way the lads dug in, fought together and stayed together got us a deserved point. We’ll take that all day long”, said Mark Noble, West Ham captain.
The visitors began brightly but could have been behind in the 31st minute had goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga not denied Michail Antonio from four yards out.
Substitute Alvaro Morata had a great opportunity to score for Chelsea on 66 minutes but his effort was blocked by the face of Lukasz Fabianski.
Andriy Yarmolenko had the best chance of the match with 13 minutes to go but he headed wide from six yards out from a Robert Snodgrass cross, while Ross Barkley’s stoppage-time shot was well saved by Fabianski.
A point drops West Ham to 17th on four points. Chelsea move down to third, level on 16 points with Manchester City.
They have a difficult match ahead on 29 September, hosting league leaders Liverpool.
