January 31, (THEWILL) — Chelsea claimed their first ever English Premier League victory after trailing by two goals at the interval, defeating West Ham 3-2 thanks to Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage-time winner. The triumph came almost three years to the day since the midfielder joined the club.
West Ham had dominated the opening period following manager Liam Rosenior’s decision to make six changes from the side that beat Crystal Palace. Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring in the seventh minute when his cross found the net, before Crysencio Summerville struck a powerful finish to double the advantage in the 36th minute.
Rosenior responded at the break by introducing Joao Pedro, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella, and all three proved instrumental in the turnaround. Fofana delivered an excellent cross for Joao Pedro to pull one back in the 57th minute, then Cucurella headed home the equaliser after Liam Delap had struck the bar.
West Ham nearly regained the lead when Jean-Clair Todibo missed an open goal, hitting the post. Chelsea capitalised on that let-off when Joao Pedro set up Fernandez to complete the comeback.
The match ended in controversy when Todibo received a red card for grabbing Joao Pedro by the throat. West Ham remain 18th, five points from safety behind Nottingham Forest, whilst Chelsea moved into fourth place ahead of Manchester United’s Sunday fixture against Fulham.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
