West Ham take their chance as Chelsea win could prove to be turning point in relegation battle

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West Ham's forgotten man Andriy Yarmolenko boosted their survival hopes as he climbed off the bench to secure a last-gasp 3-2 win for the Hammers and dent Chelsea's bid for Champions League qualification.

The Ukrainian, who has spent most of the season missing through injury, stunned Chelsea with a minute remaining to lift West Ham three points clear of the relegation zone.

In a dramatic evening at the London Stadium Willian, who had given Chelsea the lead with a first-half penalty, pegged West Ham back to 2-2 with a spectacular free-kick.

The Hammers, spurred on by a sense of injustice at having a goal harshly disallowed by VAR and conceding the penalty moments later, had hit back to lead through Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio, the two protagonists in the goal which was ruled out.

And Yarmolenko's dramatic winner meant West Ham completed an unlikely double over the Blues this season, while Frank Lampard's side missed the chance to climb to third.

West Ham make a point as rivals flounder

REUTERS

Moyes will have watched on carefully as first Watford and then Bournemouth both haplessly handed his side the chance they needed to move clear in defeats against Southampton and Newcastle respectively.

Despite losing their first two games after the restart, West Ham were back where they started, still above the bottom three and with a strong chance of moving clear with a couple of wins from their final seven games. They grabbed their chance emphatically.

With the Hammers hanging on as the game wore on a point would have been enough for Moyes to take heart from and press ahead in their battle against the drop, but as Chelsea pushed for a winner to leapfrog Leicester at the top of the division, the hosts broke, Michail Antonio finding Andriy Yarmolenko, who scored what could be the most important goal for West Ham this season - his first since September.

But as each of their relegation rivals continue to flounder, the Hammers have found life and hope in their performance tonight. Sebastian Haller could return from his hip injury to add further options for Moyes, while Jack Wilshere's first minutes since October will have also been welcome.

West Ham had to hang on a little as the game wore on, Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud both seeing good chances go to waste, but hang on they did.

Few expected the revival to begin against the Blues, who had themselves returned with two victories, but it could prove the turning point the east Londoners before their trip to Newcastle on Sunday, with games against Burnley, Norwich and Watford to follow.

Set-piece routine gets Hammers firing

AP

With Haller still not fit to make the squad for the Hammers, and after two games in which they failed to take the limited chances created, David Moyes had to come up with some to address their lack of goals.

Chelsea had conceded 11 goals from set pieces in the Premier League before kick off tonight, a weakness the Hammers exploited well.

A corner routine not dissimilar to that which brought England so much success at the World Cup in Russia two years ago finally saw the Hammers pose a threat. It was Tomas Soucek, towering over his marker Cesar Azpilicueta, who benefited from the panic caused by West Ham's first corner, converting at the far post only to see his first West Ham goal ruled out after a painstaking three-and-a-half minute VAR review.

There was no chance of any plotted lines ruling out Soucek's second success from the routing, again rising above Azpilicueta to head home the first Hammers goal since the restart on the stroke of half time.

The goal saw the hosts emerge with new found confidence, suddenly clicking going forward and not letting decisions slow them down, Michail Antonio bouncing straight back up after having a penalty claim waved away to slide behind the sloppy Andreas Christensen and tap home Jarrod Bowen's low cross.

The forward worked tirelessly throughout, holding the ball up brilliantly when Chelsea were pushing late on and swivelling well to find Yarmolenko for the winner. Moyes's calls for his forwards to step up were finally answered.

Rice and Soucek fill Noble void

REUTERS

Declan Rice had been the silver lining in West Ham's two defeats since the Premier League's return.

Despite poor performances around him the England international had shone, first at centre-half and then back in midfield against Tottenham.

With captain Mark Noble suffering a knock at the end of training on Tuesday, Rice - always a vocal presence anyway - was handed the captain's armband by Moyes, asked to lead the way alongside Soucek in midfield.

A first ever West Ham goal for January signing Soucek capped a fine midfield display, a threat in the box but covering more ground than any of his teammates to try and keep Chelsea at bay.

It was a Soucek header and Rice's clearance that sparked the break which resulted in the winner.

They may lack the experience of Noble, a man Moyes will rely on in the survival fight he expects to go to the final day, but the midfield duo provided the platform for a huge night in West Ham's season.

Additional reporting by PA.

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