Hammers put back in their box by Chelsea

Chelsea 2 West Ham 0

It turned out to be a non-event; Chelsea were simply too slick for their neighbours from the east; too quick in thought and deed. And once John Terry had put Chelsea ahead there was only going to be one result. West Ham never really believed they could come to Stamford Bridge and win. The gulf between first and fourth — the positions these teams occupied on the final whistle — was immense. Chelsea had 23 shots to West Ham’s two, neither of which was on target.

“We are a much better team when we have the ball,” said Mourinho of his own side’s impressive evolution in the past few months. “Last year we were very strong defensively but lacked a bit of creativity when we had the ball. The challenge was to bring that dynamic without losing the qualities of the team.

“At the beginning of the season there was a little bit of conflict between those two ideas and we made defensive mistakes. At the moment we have a good balance. The team is happy to have the ball and also comfortable when the opposition has it. We are a very good team.”

Trust Jose Mourinho to win the phoney war beforehand as well. Last season, when Sam Allardyce’s team did nothing but defend to prise out a 0-0 draw, he railed about ‘19th-century’ tactics. This time round he was full of praise for his counterpart, suggesting Big Sam was the manager of the year in waiting. Allardyce should have smelled that particular rodent...

Allardyce abandoned the tactics that had propelled the Hammers up the table, deploying human battering ram Andy Carroll as the lone striker and dropping top scorer Diafra Sakho and most influential midfielder Alex Song to rejig a midfield that saw Stewart Downing revert to a wing role that hadn’t worked half as much as his reinvention in ‘the hole’ behind two front men.

Big Sam might as well have parked the hackney carriage anyway as Chelsea’s superior technique made the first half as one-sided as the previous encounter. Oscar blasted an early chance over before Gary Cahill, having headed narrowly off-target, forced a point-blank save from Adrian, the Hammers’ over-worked goalkeeper. More saves followed, from Willian and then Nemanja Matic, before the resistance ended in the 31st minute.

Diego Costa, who had seen an effort deflected narrowly wide, flicked on a corner and there was Terry, a couple of yards out, to apply a side-footed finish.

A ludicrous attempt by Branislav Ivanovic to con referee Michael Oliver into a penalty saw tempers flare just before half-time but as far as the football was concerned it was a similar story in the second period.

It was Costa who doubled the lead, shortly after Sakho and Song had been introduced around the hour mark. The Hammers lost possession on the halfway line, Eden Hazard fed the Spain striker and he found the far corner despite three defenders around him.

That effectively ended the game as a contest, although West Ham should have recorded a consolation. Valencia blazed wide from a good position and substitute Morgan Amalfitano then headed wide before hitting a post when it looked easier to score.

Chelsea will take on Southampton tomorrow feeling as invincible as ever while West Ham will feel they can do better at home to Arsenal if only because the Gunners are far more brittle than Chelsea.

“The best part of our game came from when we went 2-0 down.” Allardyce said, annoyed at his side’s first-half no-show. “I am not saying we deserved anything — Chelsea were the better team — but when we carved out a few chances in the last 20 minutes, you stick one in and it can make things a bit nervous for them.”

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Courtois 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 8, Terry 8, Azpilicueta 7; Matic 8, Fabregas 8; Willian 7 (Ramires 86), Oscar 7 (Mikel 83), Hazard 8; Costa 8 (Drogba 82). Subs (not used): Cech, Luis, Zouma, Schurrle.

WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Adrian 8; Jenkinson 6, Reid 7, Collins 7, Cresswell 6; Noble 6 (Song 59, 5), Kouyate 6; Downing 6 (Amalfitano 74), Nolan 6, Valencia 7; Carroll 6 (Sakho 59, 6). Subs (not used): Jaaskelainen, Jarvis, O’Brien, Cole.

Referee: M Oliver (6).