West Ham were cruelly denied an undeserved point after Diego Costa’s late goal ensured Chelsea took all the points in the Premier League opener.
Eden Hazard gave Chelsea the lead from the spot but when James Collins struck a wonderful half-volley it looked as if West Ham had somehow got a point from the game. But it was to be late heartbreak for the Hammers as Diego Costa found the bottom corner late into the game.
West Ham started positively in the first ten minutes but were under constant pressure right up until the half-time break. Adrian had to be on hand to deny Chelsea twice as Ivanovic’s near post drive and Willian’s free kick threatened the Spaniard’s goal. Hazard also came close twice and Azpilicueta nodded wide as Chelsea dominated the first half.
West Ham had to do without record signing Andre Ayew for the majority of the game too after the former Swansea forward pulled up midway through the first half. He was subsequently replaced by Gokhan Tore.
The half time period did not seem to stem the one-way traffic, though, and within one minute of the restart, Chelsea were handed a penalty after a clumsy foul by Michail Antonio on Cesar Azpilicueta. Eden Hazard made no mistake from the spot as he blasted a powerful effort high into the middle of Adrian’s goal.
Going behind triggered a couple of positive substitutes from Slaven Bilic as he replaced the hapless Antonio with the more defensively composed Sam Byram, whilst French maestro Dimitri Payet was introduced in place of Havard Nordtveit.
And the Frenchman appeared to make a difference as his corner led to West Ham’s unlikely equaliser. After failing to threaten all game, James Collins took a touch and fired a fizzing left-footed half-volley into the back of Thibault Courtois’ net to level things against the run of play.
But just as West Ham looked like they might be robbing a point from the hosts, there was a cruel twist in the tale. Diego Costa had the final say but was lucky to still be on the pitch after a high studs-up foul on Adrian whilst already on a yellow card. He collected the ball just outside the box and fired a low shot through the legs of James Collins into the bottom corner of the net. Adrian was at full stretch but couldn’t prevent the late killer blow.
Following this toothless performance, there is plenty to improve for the Hammers as they look forward to their midweek clash away at Astra in Romania.
