Chelsea consolidated their grip on third place in the Premier League on Sunday with a 1-0 win over ten-man West Ham United, Christian Pulisic’s 90th-minute winner at Stamford Bridge making up for team-mate Jorginho’s missed penalty.
Substitute Pulisic came into the box at the right time to head home an excellent pass from Marcos Alonso just after Jorginho missed his chance from the point and shot straight at West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
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West Ham defender Craig Dawson, one of their best players in a much-changed side, was shown a red card after a check from the video assistant referee after a clumsy foul on substitute Romelu Lukaku that resulted in a penalty.
Thomas Tuchel’s side ended a string of back-to-back defeats at home – to Brentford and Arsenal – but it’s their forward line rather than defense that will worry the manager ahead of their final games.
“[Tuchel] just said to make a difference; combine and create opportunities. It feels good to be safer in the top four,” Pulisic, who replaced Timo Werner in the 76th minute, told Sky Sports after the game.
“We needed a home win and it feels great in front of our fans. We need to end the season strong… some good league games and then a final [in the FA Cup against Liverpool]. I had to come in and make a difference and show that I want to play.”
Seventh-placed West Ham have made six changes to their starting line-up ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt, a competition that gives them the best chance of reaching next season’s Champions League.
They were looking for a point course to save Fabianski after N’Golo Kante’s deflected shot and Trevoh Chalobah’s rocket from long range before Werner fired wide from a tight angle in the second half of a game that had few clear chances.
The win leaves Chelsea five points clear of fourth-placed Arsenal with a game in hand against Mikel Arteta’s side. They can consolidate their position on Thursday with a win over struggling Manchester United.