The 120th encounter between West Ham United and Chelsea ended in a draw, with Graham Potter’s squad failing to secure an away win in eight matches. In the first half, Emerson equalized for the Hammers after João Félix had opened the scoring for Chelsea. However, a late offside call against Declan Rice prevented the Hammers from securing a crucial victory.
Graham Potter made three changes to the starting line-up, including the reinstatement of Félix, who had served a three-match ban. As Chelsea’s manager, Potter made a record 67 changes in 16 PL games, surpassing his predecessor Thomas Tuchel. Félix made a quick impact, as he was found by fellow newcomer Fernández and clinically fired past Łukasz Fabiański.
Havertz nearly doubled Chelsea’s lead moments later with a defense-splitting pass, but VAR ruled that he was offside by a fraction. West Ham drew level against the flow of the game in the first half, thanks to Emerson’s goal. After a cross from Vladimír Coufal, Emerson was able to score unmarked at the back post.
Desperate to make up for their lack of scoring, Chelsea aimed to avoid a run of eight games without an away win. However, clear-cut chances were scarce, with Michail Antonio coming close for the opposition with a defensive header that had Fabiański scrambling.
Potter made another triple substitution, but the Hammers thought they had won the game when Tomáš Souček scored from a parried header from Rice. However, Rice was flagged offside after a lengthy VAR review, denying David Moyes his 250th PL win. The game ended in a draw, as Craig Pawson decided against allowing Chelsea a last-gasp winner, despite Conor Gallagher’s strike appearing to hit a hand.
