Chelsea beat West Ham, boost top 4 hopes

Christian Pulisic’s 90th-minute winner helped save team-mate Jorginho’s blushes as Chelsea boosted their top-four hopes with a late 1-0 win over an understrength West Ham.

David Moyes rested six players before their Europa League semi-final on Thursday and it looked like they might hold for a precious point when Jorginho’s woeful effort from the spot was saved by Lukasz Fabianski after 87 minutes.

But after Craig Dawson was sent off after a video assistant review (VAR) for fouling Romelu Lukaku in the build-up to the penalty, Pulisic turned the saviour as he tucked in Marcos Alonso’s low cross.

It sent Stamford Bridge into raptures after a frustrating afternoon that looked set to continue manager Thomas Tuchel’s poor form at home, with his side having lost their last three games.

But the victory sparked relief for him and his players as they recovered from their midweek defeat by Arsenal to move five points clear of the fourth-placed Gunners.

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West Ham will be distraught they did not get anything from the game after a sterling display, with Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio all starting on the bench.

Dawson, who was otherwise excellent with a number of blocks, will also feel aggrieved as West Ham remain seventh, eight points behind Arsenal.

Chelsea’s recent woes on the pitch have mirrored their uncertainty off it as the club waits for new owners to take charge and give it new direction.

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Recent defensive problems, with the team having conceded 11 goals in their three previous home games, have not been helped by news that Antonio Rudiger is set to leave at the end of the season after failing to agree a new deal despite being offered a contract of more than £200,000 a week.

But this late victory gave Stamford Bridge a huge lift even if it looked as if Jorginho had thrown away Chelsea’s best chance when his under-hit penalty was easily gathered by the West Ham goalkeeper.

A clean sheet for the hosts was also welcome, particularly as they were without the injured Rudiger and James, and forced into a late reshuffle when Andreas Christensen was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah, despite the Dane initially being named in the starting line-up.

And it was not long before it made an impact. Lukaku slipped through and was pulled back by Dawson. Referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty and a yellow card, but after a VAR review upgraded it to a red.

That looked like it would lead to a home win when Jorginho, normally so reliable from the spot, stepped up.

But his embarrassment was saved by Pulisic, who scored his seventh goal of the season from Alonso’s cut-back which made Tuchel and the fans punch the air in delight.