Chelsea travelled to West Ham last weekend in the Premier League. The European champions were without a win in their last 7 games, and had been through a very turbulent month with the firing of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Di Matteo and the appointment of the much disliked Rafael Benitez.
The Blues had failed to put in a decent attacking performance in their last few games, which is surprising considering the quality of the players they have in the squad.
West Ham had been without a win in their last 3 games, and were fresh from two successive defeats. They faced a tough test as they welcomed the European Champions.
Chelsea started brightly and scored a goal in the first half through Juan Mata. The Hammers however made changes at the break and quickly turned the game around, scoring 3 goals in the second half, rounding up a very dismal November for Chelsea.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Petr-Cech-c29837 – 6
The goalkeeper was comfortable in possession and dealt well with the West Ham attack in the first half. His handling and distribution were neat, and he made a couple of great saves. However, he was unable to match up to West Ham’s resurgence in the second half, and could nothing about the three goals.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Branislav-Ivanovic-c7994 – 6
The Serbian started the game brightly but struggled to deal with the hosts in the second half. He could do little about West Ham’s goals in the second half, and was furious with some of the officiating.
Ashley Cole – 6
The Englishman had a very solid first half, and was involved in most of Chelsea’s attacks. He put in a number of excellent deliveries in the box, but later faded as West Ham took control of the game. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ashley-Cole-c6809 was largely at fault for West Ham’s third goal.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gary-Cahill-c14439 – 6
Cahill also had a good first half, but a lack of communication at the back led to a few nervy moments He still fared better than his teammates when West Ham came back to life in the second half, and worked hard to contain them.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6
The Spaniard had a good game, and ventured forward with pace and intent. He lost the ball for West Ham’s equalizer and failed to prevent a number of crosses, one which led to the second goal for the Hammers.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ramires-c30523 – 7
The Brazilian was lively in the first half, and was all over the place as he made his energetic box-to-box runs. He however faded in the second period, and was unable to keep up with the Hammer’s tenacious attack and physicality.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/John-Obi-Mikel-c18882 – 8
The Nigerian had a good game overall, and worked hard to help his team salvage something from the game when they went down in the second half. He was however outdone by Diame, who bossed the midfield area.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Victor-Moses-c36075 – 8
Moses was quick in attack and neat in his passing. He made a number of good runs and set up a few chances for his side. He faded in the second half and was replaced in the dying minutes.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Eden-Hazard-c11863 – 6
The Belgian had a good game early on, and linked up well with his teammates. He was quick and incisive with his passing, but later faded as West Ham turned up with their physical game.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fernando-Torres-c13707 – 6
The striker had one of his better games, and set up Mata for the first goal of the night. He did struggle in the second half and went back to the Torres we have come to know ever since he moved to Stamford Bridge.
Juan Mata – 8
Mata scored the first goal, and was creative, quick and tricky in the first half. He was perhaps the best http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 player over the period of the 90 minutes.
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