Lampard saves Blues
Frank Lampard's thrice-taken penalty took Chelsea four points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League, while West Ham avoided dropping to the bottom following a 1-1 draw.
Alessandro Diamanti put the home side in front from the spot just before half-time after Ashley Cole had brought down Jack Collison.
But Lampard equalised with an hour gone after Matthew Upson was controversially judged to have fouled Daniel Sturridge, the England midfielder forced to take the spot-kick three times after referee Mike Dean saw players encroaching.
Chelsea might have taken the lead after 22 minutes when Branislav Ivanovic's powerful header from a corner was chested off the line by Scott Parker.
But it was West Ham who took the lead and no-one could say they did not deserve it, even if it was via the penalty spot.
Collison surged at the heart of Chelsea's defence and as he bore down on goalkeeper Petr Cech, England full-back Ashley Cole slid in. The tackle needed to be perfect. It wasn't and referee Mike Dean had no hesitation pointing to the spot to allow Diamanti to send Cech the wrong way.
West Ham were undone in the second-half by what looked like a dodgy refereeing decision from Mr Dean, who pointed to the spot when Matthew Upson tackled Chelsea substitute Daniel Sturridge. It looked as if he took the ball, a message he attempted to deliver to the assistant referee when he raced to the touchline miming the shape of a football.
No matter, Lampard took the spot kick and scored, only for it to be scratched by the referee for encroaching players. Lampard tried again and scored again, only for the picky Mr Dean to order the kick to be retaken once more.
To Lampard's credit he did not let it upset him, stroking the ball home once more and this time the referee did point to the halfway line.
West Ham could have let their heads drop as they have done in recent months when faced with adversity. But they did not and it took a diving save from Cech in the 72nd minute to beat away a powerful left-foot shot from the lively Diamanti.
