Chelsea vs. West Ham: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Chelsea got their 2016-17 Premier League season off to a winning start, as Diego Costa scored a late goal to beat West Ham United 2-1. 

Eden Hazard opened the score early in the second half from the penalty spot, but despite persistent pressure from the Blues, they couldn’t double their lead. James Collins bagged an equaliser with 13 minutes left to play.

A draw seemed inevitable, but Costa struck late to hand his team three points and the perfect start to the new campaign.

As shared by the club’s official Twitter account, manager Antonio Conte decided against fielding Cesc Fabregas in his first Premier League starting XI:

Team to face West Ham: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, JT (c), Azpi; Kante; Willian, Matic, Oscar, Hazard; Costa. https://t.co/1ks2aJA2qP

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 15, 2016

West Ham’s Slaven Bilic also made a bold decision, not starting Dimitri Payet.

The Blues started the match sitting deep inside their own half and giving West Ham the chance to play the ball around. It took just two minutes for N’Golo Kante to run into his first booking for taking out Andy Carroll.

Bleacher Report’s Garry Hayes thought the booking was harsh:

Not sure how Kante’s getting booked there when Collins walked away free from something similar 60 seconds ago with nothing. #CFC

— Garry Hayes (@garryhayes) August 15, 2016

Thibaut Courtois just about managed to deal with a free-kick into the box but was aided by the official, who signaled a foul. Hazard and Nemanja Matic tried to set up a combination after a poor pass from Adrian.

The scrappy start didn’t lead to many chances, although Branislav Ivanovic went close after a good run from Hazard. The full-back turned inside the box before unleashing a hard shot toward the near corner, but Adrian did well to palm the ball out of his goal.

Chelsea improved as the half wore on and started pressing higher up the pitch, troubling the Hammers. Oscar went down inside the box after 19 minutes under a challenge of Winston Reid, and while the whole stadium screamed for a penalty, the official waved to play on.

Replays confirmed there was definite contact, but Oscar tried to sell it too much. Sport …

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