Substitute Kai Havertz scored a late winner as Chelsea recovered to record a dramatic victory over West Ham, though David Moyes was left furious by a “scandalous” decision to rule out a 90th-minute Hammers equaliser.
Maxwel Cornet pounced after Edouard Mendy parried the ball into his path, but referee Andrew Madley was told to consult the pitchside monitor and then ruled Jarrod Bowen had fouled the Chelsea goalkeeper in the build-up.
The Hammers frustrated Chelsea in a first half that saw plenty of home possession but no shots on target for either side, and looked to have executed their gameplan to perfection when Michail Antonio scored after 62 minutes, bundling in from close range after Mendy failed to deal with a corner.
Chelsea, on the back of a record summer of spending and with £70m arrival Wesley Fofana making his debut, brought on Ben Chilwell and he snuck in to level from a tight angle.
It sparked a frantic finish, with Cornet almost winning it late on for the visitors, only to see his header come back off the post and the Blues immediately score themselves through a clinical Havertz finish from Chilwell’s cross.
There was still time for more drama and Cornet thought he had levelled with a strike that was then disallowed.
“It is a scandalous decision,” Moyes told Match of the Day. “I always thought he would say it is a goal once he went to the screen – I have seen it from all angles and find it incredibly difficult to see how that is chalked off.”
