Substitute Christian Pulisic scored a dramatic late winner as Chelsea beat a determined West Ham side 1-0.
Chelsea had struggled, especially in the first half, but they eventually managed to break West Ham down as they returned to winning ways and moved five points clear of Arsenal in third place.
West Ham had defended diligently for the most part but they were reduced to ten men late on when Craig Dawson, who had been impressive until that point, was sent off for a foul on Romelu Lukaku in the area following a VAR check.
Jorginho, despite usually being reliable from the spot, saw his tame effort saved by Fabianski, but Pulisic ensured that Chelsea still managed to prevail as he latched onto a cross from Marcos Alonso.
The result leaves West Ham in seventh place in the Premier League, with David Moyes having named Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio on the bench with Thursday's Europa League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt in mind. Rice and Bowen both entered the fray but Antonio remained unused.
Triple change makes the difference for Chelsea
For much of the game Chelsea's play was far too slow as they found it difficult to break down a well-organised West Ham team.
Thomas Tuchel eventually turned to his bench in the the 76th minute, with Pulisic, Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech all entering the fray.
The trio helped to increase Chelsea's attacking momentum and made a significant impact. Pulisic got the goal, Lukaku won the penalty and Ziyech caused problems with his trickery and deliveries.
Chelsea know that they need to improve significantly if they are to finish the season strongly, especially with the FA Cup final against Liverpool in mind.
Dawson red card a major issue for West Ham
As alluded to, Dawson had done very well for West Ham before his red card as he made several important blocks.
His dismissal leaves West Ham somewhat short of defensive options going into their next league game against Arsenal next Sunday.
Kurt Zouma, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna are all out injured, while West Ham's players will also be tired from the game against Frankfurt.
Today Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell filled in well in the back three, while Rice dropped into defence late on, but it is a far from ideal situation for Moyes.
MORE: Hamilton's involvement in Chelsea bid mocked by Verstappen
Chelsea vs. West Ham result
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Chelsea | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| West Ham | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goals: (CHE) Pulisic - 90 mins
Chelsea vs. West Ham live updates and highlights
Full time - Chelsea 1-0 West Ham: It certainly wasn't straightforward, but Chelsea are back to winning ways courtesy of a late goal from Pulisic. Jorginho missed a penalty just prior to that, with Craig Dawson having been sent off for West Ham.
90 mins: Mount then sends the ball over, with Chelsea looking to take further advantage of West Ham being down to ten men.
GOAL - Chelsea 1-0 West Ham: Now Chelsea do have the lead, with substitute Christian Pulisic slotting home in the 89th minute following a cross from Alonso.
PENALTY MISSED - Jorginho misses his penalty, which is easily saved by Fabianski.
CRAIG DAWSON SENT OFF - Dawson's yellow is changed to a red card for the denial of a goal scoring opportunity. after VAR is consulted.
PENALTY TO CHELSEA - Craig Dawson is booked for bringing down Lukaku in the box.
81 mins: Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso is booked for an elbow on Soucek.
75 mins: Chelsea make a triple change - Pulisic, Lukaku and Ziyech are on for Loftus-Cheek, Havertz and Werner. West Ham bring on Lanzini for Benrahma.
73 mins: West Ham make another change as Jarrod Bowen replaces Yarmolenko.
Fabianski makes a good save to deny Werner.
69 mins: Yarmolenko is denied twice by Mendy, with the flag then being raised for offside. Mount then has a shot blocked for Chelsea and Werner can't steer home the rebound.
61 mins: West Ham bring on Declan Rice, with the midfielder replacing Mark Noble.
58 mins: Fabianski is called upon again, this time to push away a long-range strike from Chalobah, with Chelsea now playing with more determination.
56 mins: Soucek has a shot blocked for West Ham, with the game starting to open up now. At the other end Kante pushes forward and his effort deflects off Ben Johnson and into the path of Fabianski.
50 mins: A cross from Mason Mount causes some uncertainty for Fabianski but it ends up drifting out of play. Dawson then makes an excellent block as Chelsea start to up the ante.
The second half starts at Stamford Bridge. Hopefully the quality of the game will increase significantly.
Romelu Lukaku is among the options Chelsea can turn to on the bench as they look to improve. West Ham have the likes of Rice, Bowen and Antonio in reserve but it remains to be seen if they will enter the fray.
Half time: Chelsea 0-0 West Ham: It has been a very frustrating first half for Chelsea, who have played very slowly and haven't tested West Ham. The visitors haven't created much themselves but will be more satisfied with the scoreline.
42 mins: Kante has looked like the player most likely to make something happen for Chelsea but West Ham are coping well.
37 mins: Loftus-Cheek's tame effort is gathered by Fabianski. Chelsea have still yet to cause serious problems for West Ham.
32 mins: Yarmolenko shoots wide for West Ham. Benrahma felt that he should have been played in instead.
29 mins: Azpilicueta has a shot blocked. West Ham are doing well so far with regards to withstanding the Chelsea pressure.
23 mins: There hasn't been a lot of energy in Chelsea's performance so far. They will need to up the tempo in order to open the scoring.
17 mins: Cesar Azpilicueta makes a mistake. Said Benrahma seizes possession but can't make the most of the opportunity.
14 mins: West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has to react to claim the ball as Timo Werner sends in a delivery towards Kai Havertz.
7 mins: N'Golo Kante shoots wide, with Chelsea continuing to have the upper hand. Stamford Bridge is again operating at a reduced capacity today, with only season-ticket holders allowed to attend in terms of home supporters.
3 mins: Chelsea have started well and are controlling possession, but they are having to be patient as they look to break West Ham down.
The game is underway.
The players are in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge, with kick off rapidly approaching. Can West Ham still cause problems for Chelsea despite having made a host of changes?
15 mins from KO: There's been a late change for Chelsea, with Andreas Christensen missing out due to illness, with Trevoh Chalobah coming into the starting lineup.
30 mins from KO: The West Ham team news will certainly give Chelsea a boost as they look to secure victory and move five points ahead of Arsenal. For Chelsea it will be interesting to see if Loftus-Cheek is deployed as a wing-back.
West Ham name Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio on the bench, seemingly with Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg against Eintracht Franfkurt in mind.
Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva are back in the starting lineup for Chelsea, with Romelu Lukaku named among the substitutes again.
Team news:
Your Chelsea side this afternoon! 🔵#CheWhu pic.twitter.com/JZtpj2KK8d
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 24, 2022
Six changes today.
— West Ham United (@WestHam) April 24, 2022
Here's how we're lining up...@betway | #CHEWHU pic.twitter.com/qcDu4DrOO1
90 mins from KO: There will, inevitably, be much focus on Declan Rice today, with uncertainty persisting regarding his future at West Ham. Chelsea have been heavily linked with a move for their former academy player.
2 hours from KO: Welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Chelsea vs. West Ham.
The stage is set for what could be an entertaining London derby, with Chelsea looking to return to winning ways, while West Ham will be aiming to demonstrate that they can get the better of the Blues again after they won 3-2 in the reverse fixture in December.
MORE: How much will Declan Rice cost?
How to watch Chelsea vs. West Ham
| UK | USA | Canada | Australia | |
| Date | April 24 | April 24 | April 24 | April 25 |
| Time | 2 p.m. BST | 9 a.m. ET | 9 a.m. ET | 12 a.m. AEST |
| TV channel | Sky Sports Main Event | USA Network | DAZN | Optus Sport |
| Streaming | NOW TV | fuboTV | DAZN | Optus Sport |
In the US, televised Premier League games are available on fuboTV, which also offers a free trial to new subscribers.
In Canada, every Premier League game streams live on DAZN.