Matching an all-time club record by completing their 10th Premier League double over Tottenham, Chelsea became the latest in a long line of teams to expose the Lilywhites’ weaknesses from set-pieces, striking either side of the half-time whistle from a free-kick scenario.
Firstly, Trevoh Chalobah was allowed to make an unchecked run to meet Conor Gallagher’s delightful delivery and head home into the top corner, before Cole Palmer’s fierce strike rattled the crossbar, and Nicolas Jackson nodded in the rebound despite the presence of two white jerseys.
Even with a crippling 14-strong injury list, leaving Mauricio Pochettino down to the bare bones in terms of senior players available for selection, the Blues were the dominant force throughout the 90 minutes against the Argentine’s former club, ending a three-game winless sequence in impressive style.
Eighth place in the table now belongs to the Blues on account of their midweek success – they leapfrogged none other than upcoming opponents West Ham – and they only have a two-point gap to Newcastle United and three-point disadvantage to Manchester United in the heated race for European qualification.
Further exorcising their previous Stamford Bridge demons, Chelsea now have six wins and a draw to boast from their last seven contests at their West London home in all competitions, scoring multiple goals in each of those matches and keeping clean sheets in both of their last two.
Having enhanced their European credentials in midweek, Chelsea could now strengthen their chances of a top-seven finish even further while simultaneously damaging West Ham’s bid for a place in the revamped continental tournaments for 2024-25, and the form book suggests that such a scenario is highly likely on Sunday.
Going out of the Europa League to unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen did not relight a fire within David Moyes’s side, who only have one win to boast from their last nine games and are without a victory in each of their most recent five continentally and domestically.
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However, the Irons put in a praiseworthy display against faltering title-chasers Liverpool last week, as Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio forced a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but their European destiny is out of their own hands as they linger in ninth spot, two points below Chelsea having played a game more.
Sunday’s game is not even the most daunting away trip left on West Ham’s 2023-24 schedule – they head to the Etihad to face Manchester City on the final day of the season – and they are still without a Premier League clean sheet on the road in 2024, most recently shutting out Arsenal in December.
The Europa Conference League champions prevailed 3-1 when Chelsea visited the London Stadium in August, though, and they could now complete just their third Premier League double over the Blues, but the last three Stamford Bridge battles have gone the hosts’ way
