Chelsea vs. West Ham United result, highlights and analysis as Kai Havertz seals comeback win amid huge VAR controversy

Ben Miller

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Joe Wright

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Chelsea vs. West Ham United result, highlights and analysis as Kai Havertz seals comeback win amid huge VAR controversy image

Chelsea fought back from a goal down to beat West Ham United 2-1 in a feisty London derby that ended with a hugely controversial intervention from VAR.

Kai Havertz struck what proved to be the winner in the 88th minute before Maxwel Cornet had an equaliser disallowed for an apparent foul by Jarrod Bowen on goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the build-up.

The England forward was penalised for catching Mendy on the arm as he jumped over the Chelsea man, who had parried the ball away from Bowen's feet and then stayed down as Cornet scored. Contact looked to be minimal.

Michail Antonio had put the Hammers ahead after a tedious first half, bundling in from close range after earlier escaping punishment for a grapple with Thiago Silva, when he seemed to grab the defender around the head and drag him to the ground.

Chelsea vs. West Ham final score

  1H 2H Final
Chelsea 0 2 2
West Ham 0 1 1

Goals: 

WHU — Michail Antonio (62 mins)

CHE — Ben Chilwell (76 mins)

CHE — Kai Havertz (87 mins)

MORE: Most expensive defenders in football history: Updated list of top 15 transfers after Wesley Fofana joins Chelsea

Wesley Fofana made his Chelsea debut and Lucas Paqueta had his first taste of Premier League football for the visitors, who kept the Blues limited to very few chances until Ben Chilwell and Havertz were introduced for Mateo Kovacic and the ineffective Christian Pulisic.

Chilwell was the surprising first goalscorer for Chelsea, poking the ball through the legs of Lukasz Fabianski from a tight angle.

And Havertz blasted home Chelsea's second from Chilwell's cross barely two minutes before Cornet, who had earlier hit the post, saw his celebrations turn sour.

VAR-La Land

It was certainly a box-office ending in terms of pure drama, but, like a famous dancer's experimental passion-project, it didn't make much sense to the viewer.

West Ham's equaliser was disallowed, it seems, because Bowen caught Mendy as he jumped over the prone Chelsea keeper, who had pushed the ball tamely back out to Cornet after James made a mess of a header. It was difficult to see whether Bowen just clipped Mendy's arm with his lead studs, but he definitely made contact with his back foot. Mendy stayed down holding his arm as Cornet fired into the net, and his reaction prompted the VAR intervention, referee Andy Madley disallowing the goal after watching the replays on the pitchside monitor.

"We were lucky today to get the VAR decision in our favour, which was for me the correct decision. We want to turn the game around and keep the three points," said Thomas Tuchel after the match to BBC Sport, in rather more circumspect tones than David Moyes.

"It is a scandalous decision, absolutely rotten from one of the supposedly elite referees," raged the West Ham boss. "It doesn't say much about whoever sent him over from VAR as well. It is an unbelievable decision against us.

"We feel we got back to 2-2 and it was not down to anything we have done. I support a lot of the VAR stuff. I actually think the goalkeeper dives, he is faking an injury because he cannot get to the next one — he did the same on the first goal as well. The referee somehow gets that so wrong it is incredible."

Fofana bright but Chelsea too predictable

Fofana earned some early cheers when he shoved Antonio off the ball as West Ham looked to counter, and that set the tone for a generally solid debut for the centre-back.

His was certainly a brighter performance than that of Chelsea's attack for the first hour. Wing-backs Marc Cucurella and James seemed to be under instruction to shun risky passes in favour of retaining possession, and there were few runs from deep by Mateo Kovacic or Ruben Loftus-Cheek, leaving the front two of Raheem Sterling and Pulisic horribly isolated against a rigid Hammers rearguard.

Tuchel's introduction of Chilwell and Havertz sparked his team into life, but only after Antonio had put West Ham ahead, capitalising on more uncertain goalkeeping from Mendy. It was an extremely welcome victory for the Blues boss, but it wasn't one that will dispel too many doubts about Chelsea's title credentials.

Chelsea vs. West Ham commentary, highlights from Premier League

FULLTIME: It's all over, and Chelsea have won it! A remarkable end to a match that was pretty dreadful for the first hour sees Kai Havertz come off the bench to score the winner and a hugely contentious VAR call deny West Ham an equaliser.

90 mins: West Ham goal disallowed! Cornet thinks he's equalised, firing high into the net after Mendy had palmed the ball away from the feet of Bowen. However, after a VAR check, the West Ham forward is penalised for a foul on the Chelsea keeper: he just caught Mendy's arm with his studs as he hurdled him, but contact was minimal. That seems an extremely harsh call.

88 mins: GOOOOAAAAAALLL! Havertz has surely won it for Chelsea! Chilwell turns provider, crossing low from the left, and Havertz meets it with a first-time finish at the near post that leaves Fabianski with no chance.

Watch Havertz's goal (USA):

85 mins: What a chance! Maxwel Cornet, just on as a substitute, heads against the post from barely a yard out! A big let-off for Chelsea.

82 mins: On comes Jorginho for Loftus-Cheek, while Angelo Ogbonna is on for Hammers debutant Paqueta. The visitors are playing for a point, while Chelsea are pushing for a winner.

76 mins: GOOOOAAAALLL! Chelsea are level — it's Ben Chilwell with the equaliser! He makes a bending run from the left into the box and Silva sends a long ball to find him. Two West Ham defenders get in each other's way, it bounces off Chilwell's head, and he quickly turns and slots the ball through the legs of Fabianski!

75 mins: Zouma to the rescue! Sterling's cross is a peach and Havertz looks to turn it beyond Fabianski, but the centre-back gets across to clear!

70 mins: Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell are coming on for the hosts, who need an injection of quality from somewhere. West Ham are dismantling their attacks all-too easily. Cucurella and Kovacic are off.

66 mins: An early chance for Broja! The ball bounces through to Lukasz Fabianski, he can't hold onto it, and the Chelsea substitute clatters into him when trying to get to the loose ball. Home fans want a penalty, but that was a foul on the keeper, if anything.

62 mins: GOOAAALLL! Antonio puts West Ham ahead! The Hammers have a string of corners, Mendy flaps at the latest delivery, Rice turns it back across the line and Antonio sticks out a boot to score! Chelsea might argue he shouldn't be on the pitch, but he's opened the scoring!

59 mins: Tuchel blinks first — Armando Broja and Mason Mount are on for Gallagher and Pulisic. Meanwhile, in the latest episode of 'Is he a little lucky, there?', Antonio escapes punishment for rather forcefully grabbing Silva around the head as they sprinted for the ball.

55 mins: Is James a little lucky there? Antonio, having lost the ball on a promising counter, trips the Chelsea fullback as he moves towards halfway. James then seems to put a foot into the striker's hip as he jogs past, but he only gets a yellow card after a bit of a scuffle.

51 mins: Better from Chelsea, as two promising Sterling runs in as many minutes get West Ham's defence retreating. Zouma turns the ball behind for a corner from the second, and while that set-piece came to nothing, Gallagher wins a free-kick in a more promising position, which Antonio glances behind.

49 mins: Fofana's eyes light up as Pulisic plays him into space, 25 yards from West Ham's goal. He winds up for what would be a stunning debut strike... and his shot bounces into the advertising boards, about five yards wide of the post. Worth a go, though.

46 mins: We're back underway, and it's West Ham who've started the half brightly. Antonio wins a free-kick and the ball is worked wide to Bowen via a throw-in, but his cross comes to nothing. Still, Chelsea haven't quite woken up yet.

HALFTIME: West Ham end the half on the front foot, but it's goalless at the break, with chances few and far between for either side. The Hammers have been disciplined and tough to break down, while Chelsea have too often looked risk-averse, refusing more adventurous play in favour of retaining possession.

45 mins: Koulibaly goes on a foray down the left wing, gets crowed out by two covering West Ham defenders, and it's a goal kick. That rather sums up this first half.

43 mins: We've a stoppage in play here after Loftus-Cheek and Soucek clashed heads at a corner. Both seem okay to continue.

38 mins: A first real half-chance for West Ham as Antonio turns and sends a dangerous deflected cross towards the six-yard box, with no teammates near it. Coufal turns it back in, it's nodded away, and Fornals has a go with an ambitious volley that wasn't too far over Edouard Mendy's goal.

34 mins: There's that movement from Sterling and Pulisic we expected. The latter drops deep and progresses with the ball, lays it off to Sterling and receives a terrific return pass, but Coufal is across to deny him. Cucurella's now gone into the book for stopping a West Ham break.

31 mins: Kovacic tries a snapshot from the edge of the box, which bounced narrowly wide of the left-hand post. West Ham go long from the goal kick, but Antonio concedes a foul on Thiago Silva. The Hammers striker has been in (not so) splendid isolation so far.

29 mins: We've had one shot in this match as we approach the half-hour mark, which tells you most of what you need to know.

23 mins: Reece James is picked out in space down the right but balloons his cross out of play. It's all fallen a bit flat at the Bridge.

15 mins: West Ham fans are in fine voice in the London sunshine. Their side is implementing a very good plan out of possession, with Pablo Fornals dropping deeper to limit Chelsea's options when switching play. They seem to be nullifying the Blues' early attacking promise.

10 mins: Chelsea have started positively here. Pulisic gets into the box down the left but former Chelsea man Kurt Zouma clears his dangerous cross.

4 mins: Some early cheers for Fofana as he eases Antonio off the ball to snuff out a potentially promising West Ham break.

KICKOFF: Here we go! West Ham get us underway. It looks like Gallagher is starting as a No.10, in between Sterling and Pulisic.

20 mins from kickoff: There's been real balance to this fixture in recent seasons. Indeed, the past six league meetings have yielded three wins for Chelsea, and three for the Hammers. The last match at Stamford Bridge was settled by an injury-time winner from Pulisic.

40 mins from kickoff: It's straight into the Premier League deep end for Paqueta, while Fofana is also thrust into the Chelsea defence from the off. Pulisic's inclusion is interesting: it looks like a shift in shape from Tuchel, and the USMNT star should offer — in theory, at least — more mobility alongside Sterling than, say, Kai Havertz or Mason Mount. Tuchel's thinking seems to be to outnumber West Ham in midfield and go for speed rather than strength against the David Moyes defence.

1 hour from kickoff: The team news is in, and it's a full debut for Wesley Fofana. Chelsea look to be going 3-5-2, with Christian Pulisic partnering Raheem Sterling in attack.

As for West Ham, Lucas Paqueta also makes his debut from the off. The former Lyon man looks to be starting as a No.10 behind Michail Antonio.

90 mins from kickoff: It's fair to say Chelsea were one of the more active clubs in the transfer window, with new owner Todd Boehly apparently keen to sign just about anybody who'd ever pulled on a football shirt. In the end, they pushed through some late deals for Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria before the window closed, but only centre-back Fofana is in with a chance of a debut today.

120 mins from kickoff: West Ham United have gone from one London derby to another: fresh from a 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur, they now tackle Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea vs. West Ham United lineups

Wesley Fofana is straight in for his Chelsea, but N'Golo Kante is absent with hamstring trouble. Reece James and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are fit to feature again, as is Mateo Kovacic. Christian Pulisic partners Raheem Sterling in attack.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will miss out because of a fractured jaw, while another new arrival, Denis Zakaria, has not yet had his work permit application processed.

Chelsea lineup (3-5-2): Mendy (GK) — Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly, — James, Gallagher, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Cucurella — Pulisic, Sterling.

Chelsea subs: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Chilwell, Chalobah, Jorginho, Mount, Ziyech, Broja, Havertz

Defender Ben Johnson will miss the game after being substituted during the 1-0 win at Aston Villa with a problem that precluded him from the matchday squad for Wednesday's 1-1 draw at home to Spurs. 

There is no Gianluca Scamacca, who missed the Spurs match through illness, and defender Aaron Cresswell is also out. Club-record signing Lucas Paqueta, who arrived for £51m/$58.7m from Lyon last week, is set to make his debut as a starter in midfield.

West Ham lineup (4-2-3-1): Fabianski (GK) — Coufal, Zouma, Kehrer, Emerson — Rice, Soucek — Bowen, Paqueta, Fornals — Antonio.

West Ham subs: Areola, Randolph, Ogbonna, Coventry, Downes, Lanzini, Cornet, Benrahma

MORE: Southampton vs. Chelsea score: Blues battered by cohesive Saints side for second straight away defeat

What time is Chelsea vs. West Ham?

Chelsea play host to West Ham at Stamford Bridge in London, England. It kicks off at 3 p.m. BST on Saturday, September 3.

  UK USA Canada Australia
Date Saturday, September 3 Saturday, September 3 Saturday, September 3 Sunday, September 4
Time 15:00 BST 10:00 ET 10:00 ET 00:00 AET

How to watch Chelsea vs. West Ham United

  UK USA Canada Australia
TV channel - - - -
Streaming - Peacock fuboTV Optus Sport

UK: Chelsea vs. West Ham is not on live UK TV or streams because of the broadcasting blackout when it comes to 3 p.m. matches.

USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on fuboTV. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.

Canada: Every Premier League game streams live and on demand exclusively via fuboTV.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream matches live and on demand on Optus Sport. 

Ben Miller

Ben Miller Photo

Ben Miller has been writing about sport for 25 years, following all levels of football as well as boxing, MMA, athletics and tennis. He’s seen five promotions, three relegations, one World Cup winner and home games in at least three different stadiums as a result of his lifelong devotion to Brighton & Hove Albion. His main aim each week is to cover at least one game or event that does not require a last-minute rewrite.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.