Chelsea continued their relentless march towards the Premier League title with a comfortable win over the Hammers at Stamford Bridge - but will have made few friends in doing so.
In a week when the issue of diving and players cheating their fellow professionals has been a major topic of discussion, the Blues showed their contempt for the vast majority of football followers around the country by continuing their policy of attempting to hoodwink the officials by 'going to ground' at every available opportunity.Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic were both guilty of feigning fouls inside the 18-yard box during the first half, although neither resulted in a penalty. Credit for that at least to rookie referee Michael Oliver, although his refusal to sanction either was little short of a dereliction of duty.
It said much of Oliver's performance today that the only players to be booked in the first half wore claret and blue - and the first of the two, James Collins, was penalised for making a perfectly legitimate and well-timed tackle on Costa, as he drove towards goal.
That Chelsea were superb to watch when doing what they are paid to do - ie. play football - made their predilection for cheating even more baffling. Hazard - when not falling over or appealing for non-existent penalties - excelled for the hosts and was a joy to watch when in full flow.
However it was a far more typically-British goal that saw Chelsea open the scoring on the half hour mark. Fabregas' corner was met by the head of Costa, whose parry was met by the incoming John Terry. Marker James Collins was nowhere to be seen as the former England defender applied the finish to give the home side a deserved lead.
West Ham had been battered before the goal and continued to face the flak for the rest of the half. Fortunately for Sam Allardyce's side, Chelsea found goalkeeper Adrian once again in sparkling form; the Spaniard made seven saves and claimed three crosses to prevent the Blues from recording an even larger winning margin.
However there was little he could do to prevent the championship front-runners from grabbing a second, with 62 minutes played. Cheik Kouyate lost possession on the half way line and the ball was swiftly moved to Costa, who bamboozled Collins with quick feet before firing across Adrian into the far corner.
Gutted for the boys today 👎 Always a tough ask when playing at Chelsea away. Looking forward to our home game against Arsenal on Sunday!
— Diego Poyet (@diegopoyet7) December 26, 2014
That goal put any notions of West Ham pulling off a major shock to bed and although United perhaps deserved a consolation for their (much improved) second half effort, it wasn't to be. Substitute Morgan Amalfitano thought he'd reduced the deficit three minutes from time when dancing through the Chelsea defence before failing to beat the woodwork.
Big Sam's decision to rest one or two key players for this weekend's clash with Arsenal saw some of his fiercest critics re-emerge from wherever it is they have been hiding in recent months, although only in 48 hours time will we know whether that policy proved to be the right one.
Clearly Arsenal at home is a far less formidable challenge than visiting the league leaders, whose Premier League record at Stamford Bridge this season now reads played nine, won nine. Should the Hammers prevail and take three points on Sunday, perhaps the decision not to throw the kitchen sink at Chelsea today will prove to be the right one.
Not the result we wanted today, we knew it was going to be tough but look forward to Sunday now.. #COYI
— Aaron cresswell (@Aaron_Cresswell) December 26, 2014
Chelsea 2-0 West Ham Utd: Match Facts
West Ham Utd: Adrian, Reid, Cresswell, Nolan, Kouyate, Carroll (Sakho 59), Downing (Amalfitano 74), Noble (Song 59), Jenkinson, Collins, Valencia.
Subs not used: Jaaskelainen, Jarvis, O'Brien, Cole.
Booked: Collins (28), Cresswell (33), Reid (58).
Dives: 0.
Possession: 38%.
Shots (On Target/Off Target/Blocked): 28 (9/13/6).
Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Fabregas, Oscar (Mikel 83), Hazard,, Costa (Drogba 83), Matic, Willian (Ramires 86), Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta.
Subs not used: Cech, Luis, Zouma, Schurrle.
Goals: Terry (31), Costa (62).
Booked: None.
Dives: 2.
Possession: 62%.
Shots (On Target/Off Target/Blocked): 6 (0/6/0).
Referee: Michael Oliver (5).
Attendance: 41,589.
* Something to say about this story? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.
