West Ham United 1-2

Independent:

The Hammers' winning ways continue amid violent scenes at the London Stadium

West Ham United 2 Chelsea 1: Goals courtesy of Cheikhou Kouyate and Edimilson Fernandes handed Slaven Bilic's men their third consecutive victory

Jack Pitt-Brooke

This was nearly the night when the London Stadium finally felt open for business. Its ninth game, at the end of its third month, and West Ham United gave the stadium and its crow the performance they deserved, the performance everyone had been waiting for.

And then, in the final minutes of the match, a mass confrontation flared behind one goal, between home and away fans. It was quickly quelled but the damage was done, not least to popular memories of this evening with everyone who was here.

Except for the trouble, this could have been one of the great nights in West Ham’s recent history. Of course any defeat of Chelsea, to reach a cup quarter-final, would mean the world to West Ham. But this win meant more than that. Because it reminded West Ham, for the first real time this season, of a few things that had been slipping into doubt. That there is still a good team here, with a good manager, if only they can all pull in the same direction. Or that leaving their old home does not mean that they have lost themselves, if they can still produce nights like this.

Whether West Ham can go to Old Trafford and win is a long shot, and their league form certainly has to improve a long way. But this night felt like a turning point, a confirmation that the defeats of Crystal Palace and Sunderland were, if not the start of something, then at least the end of their spiral. Here, at long last, was something to build on, something to believe in.

In that sense this was a rare night when West Ham fans got exactly what they were hoping for. After too many bad outings at the London Stadium, too many fresh reminders of what this place is not, they  needed a performance to get behind. Against someone stronger than Bournemouth, Sunderland, Accrington or Domzale, their four home scalps before tonight.

Who better to come here, then, than Chelsea? A cross-town rival, but not one at their best, with Antonio Conte resting many of his best players. By the time Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro came on, the game had already been lost. West Ham had taken it away from Chelsea’s youngsters and fringe men, playing with an industry and intensity that was beyond anything they had produced all season.

Both teams have stabilised in recent weeks thanks to a new 3-4-3 system, providing a run of clean sheets desperately needed for both managers. Here, though, West Ham were operating without a recognised striker, so few were the options at Bilic’s disposal. He picked his three most dangerous players, Michail Antonio, Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini, in his front three, hoping they would be incisive enough to pick through Chelsea’s lumbering backline.

It was a risk but it worked. Just 10 minutes in, Antonio won a free-kick from Gary Cahill. That led to a corner, which came out to Mark Noble 30 yards out. He swung in a cross, and Cheikhou Kouyate jumped above John Terry to head it in.

The ground erupted and West Ham continued to drive forward, fuelled by the best atmosphere they have enjoyed here. Antonio skewed one shot just wide, before beating David Luiz down the left and crossing to Lanzini, who could not get enough on his flick. Asmir Begovic had to save well from Payet’s free-kick and Pedro Obiang from distance, and West Ham were wondering at the break how they were not ahead by more.

Anxiety is natural, but they need not have worried. Three minutes after the restart West Ham had scored again. Begovic smothered Payet’s far-post shot but when the ball came back out to Edimilson Fernandes, Chelsea did not switch on. So Fernandes cut inside Ola Aina, onto his left foot, and beat Begovic into the far bottom corner. When Noble shot just wide from distance, Chelsea knew they were in a game. Diego Costa was thrown on, then Eden Hazard, then Pedro.

This was a different Chelsea team, so attacking that it had Pedro as left wing-back and Oscar in central midfield. They had created half-chances beforehand but now they had an extra fizz, an extra edge. For too long in the opening hour they had looked like they wanted it less than their hosts, second to every loose ball, as Mark Noble and Pedro Obiang cleaned up in midfield.

Conte admitted afterwards that he did not expect West Ham to score their second so soon, and so quickly threw on Costa, then Hazard, then Pedro when they did. This was a new Chelsea team, with an extra fizz, an extra edge. Luiz found Costa, who pulled it back to Willian, but he dragged his shot wide. The next time they combined Willian played in Costa, whose chip faded away from the post.

But there was a moment to get back into the game, and Chelsea missed it. West Ham, by the end luxuriating in the feel of imminent triumph, could slow the play down and threaten on the break. By the time Chelsea pulled one back, as Gary Cahill bundled in a corner, the game was up. That was the last kick of the night, even if by that point most people’s eyes had switched to the stands.

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Guardian:

Cheikhou Kouyaté inspires West Ham but clashes mar win over Chelsea
West Ham 2 - 1 Chelsea

David Hytner

It had always promised to be an incendiary tie and, for 90 minutes, it looked as though it would be celebrated for the football, which was fast, open and exciting. West Ham United finally delivered the performance that they had wanted to electrify their new stadium and they put themselves on the right side of the result, too. They are into the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, where they will face Manchester United at Old Trafford.

But all of the good things from West Ham and Chelsea would be marred in stoppage time during a couple of minutes when supporters from both clubs hurled insults and projectiles – including coins and a couple of ripped-up seats.

The trouble had flared when Chelsea fans made for the exit at the back of the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand and some of their counterparts from West Ham moved towards them. The stewards fought to keep them apart but, with a bottleneck having formed, the situation very quickly came to look very ugly.

Slaven Bilic’s reaction during his post-match press conference said it all, after he was asked, on the second question, to talk about the crowd trouble. Exasperation did not begin to cover it. “This game deserves to be talked about a little bit more,” he said.

He was right, because it was a thriller. And yet, when such a substantial number of supporters can behave in such a bone-headed manner, the prominence afforded to the bad stuff comes with a grim inevitability.

There were 11,000 empty seats in the stadium for various reasons, with one of the theories taking in the reticence of some fans to attend, given the possibility that there would be problems. There had already been disturbances in the stands and outside the ground at some of West Ham’s previous home matches. And this was Chelsea – not Bournemouth or Watford.

It remains incongruous to see West Ham playing in this vast bowl, in which the noise can often appear to drift away on the breeze but there was a good atmosphere at the outset, and the tie crackled to life when Cheikhou Kouyaté opened the scoring. Chelsea had looked comfortable but they were rocked by Kouyaté’s goal and it was because players are simply not supposed to score with headers from just inside the penalty area.

The defender met Mark Noble’s cross, after West Ham had recycled a corner, with astonishing power and he brought the precision, too. Kouyaté had been two yards inside the Chelsea box and his effort kissed the inside of Asmir Begovic’s post on its way in. John Terry, back in the Chelsea team for his first action since 11 September, had been the blue shirt closest to Kouyaté.

The tone on the field had been set by a 50-50 challenge between Noble and Gary Cahill in the first minute – neither player held back – and it was one of those games that featured so many subplots. It felt unusual, for example, to see both teams in a blood-and-thunder English cup tie playing with three-man defences.

Antonio Conte had made seven changes from Sunday’s home win over United and they created chances at the outset. Terry converged onto a Willian corner to touch over the crossbar while N’Golo Kanté burst into the area, checked and shot. Darren Randolph, who started ahead of Adrián, made a smart save to his right.

Kouyaté’s moment of brilliance had a liberating effect on West Ham, and they had the opportunities to add to their lead during the first half. West Ham appealed in vain for a penalty when Kanté nibbled at the back of Dimitri Payet but the ball ran on to Michail Antonio and, gloriously placed, he swept narrowly past the post.

Manuel Lanzini flicked wide with his outside of his right boot, from Antonio’s low left-wing cross, when he might have been better advised having a swing with his other foot and both Payet and Pedro Obiang worked Begovic before the interval.

Chelsea had plenty of opportunities, too, and they could not understand how they were not rewarded before the break. Nathaniel Chalobah tested Randolph from distance and Kanté might have shot, when well-placed on the left-hand side of the area, rather than looking for a cutback. Michy Batshuayi lifted over from Oscar’s low cross – a bad miss – and Oscar himself then watched a toe-poked shot deflect just wide.

West Ham took charge early in the second half and it was a moment that Edimilson Fernandes will always cherish. The 20-year-old summer signing from Sion, who was making his fifth appearance for the club, collected Noble’s square pass, cut inside and drove a low left-footed shot into the far corner.

Chelsea thought that they had wriggled off the hook after Begovic had blocked from Payet at close quarters, following Antonio’s cross, but Aaron Cresswell won the ball back from Kanté’s clearance and he moved it on to Noble. The stadium roared when Fernandes found the net and it felt like a golden moment for West Ham.

Conte sent on his big guns – Diego Costa and Eden Hazard – while Pedro also came on for the left wing-back, Ola Aina. The manager could be pleased with the never-say-die spirit of his players. They pushed until the end, and they created a flurry of chances.

Oscar felt that he should have had a penalty for handball against Kouyaté while Willian dragged wastefully wide, Hazard hit the top of the post and Costa lifted over Randolph but wide of the goal. At the other end, Payet shot high on the break before Cahill got one back at the very last following a Willian free-kick. By then, however, the trouble had kicked off. The occasion would take on an altogether different feel.

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Telegraph:

West Ham 2 Chelsea 1:

Hammers' new home gets cup tie to remember, but crowd trouble overshadows derby win
Sam Wallace

Down at the London Stadium, it finally felt like home for West Ham on a night when they claimed a cup victory over wealthier, more celebrated opposition and there was some of that familiar do-you-want-some posturing that certain men of a certain age enjoy more than Christmas.

Slaven Bilic’s team progress to face Manchester United away in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, and for the first time since they moved into the Olympic Stadium there was an atmosphere that felt a bit like the old days at Upton Park when the touchline was just a gentle cigarette lighter lob from the stands. They took the lead on 11 minutes through Cheikhou Kouyate and never looked back.

Afterwards, Bilic begged for the focus to return to his team’s performance and not the stand-off in the stands which saw some seats ripped up, coins thrown and generally a lot of aggressive pointing from people who should know better. Pity the poor stewards caught in between them all and while it looked bad on television pictures there have been much worse nights than this over the years.

Bilic said that while it was going on, his priority was to remind Aaron Cresswell to keep his mind on the game and not the violence, or whatever it was that was happening in the stands. He condemned it as “unacceptable” and said that the club would do their best to tackle the problems the new stadium has thrown up.

Antonio Conte made seven changes from the team that beat Manchester United and paid the price but he deserves credit for picking 21-year-old Nathaniel Chalobah for his first senior start and Ola Aina, 20, for just his second. Both started well and although there were mistakes there have been many Chelsea managers in the past who have refused to dip into the academy graduates in this competition.

“We have good young players and they need to play,” Conte said. “They played a good game with the right intensity and concentration, it’s a pity because when you lose it’s normal to see the bad things but in this game I found a lot of positive things.”

What cost Conte in the end were the performances of his senior players, especially the likes of Willian, Oscar, and the returning John Terry who was well-beaten for Kouyate’s first goal. He substituted Michy Batshuayi before the hour and the effect that his replacement, Diego Costa, had on the match was notable.

Chelsea had chances in those closing stages with Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro on the pitch but they never looked confident enough to convert them until their very last touch of the game which Gary Cahill lashed into the goal. By then Edmilson Fernandes had scored his first goal for West Ham, three minutes after half-time, and Conte was forced to send on his more experienced players.

In the battle in midfield, Mark Noble came out on top over N’Golo Kante and West Ham’s three-man defence looked very solid. There was another fine performance from Michail Antonio who pinned David Luiz out on the right side in the first half and spun off down the line to create a chance for Manuel Lanzini.

That was another of those moments that showed, in spite of the rush of victory over United, that there will still be a great deal that must be done if Chelsea’s three-man defensive line is to be a success. John Terry, adapting to this new way of life at Chelsea for the first time, was largely protected from the general anxieties of conventional centre-halves at the centre of a back three, although he will look back on the West Ham goal with regret.

On that occasion he was simply beaten to the ball by a more aggressive, assertive leap from Kouyate who was first to Noble’s cross from the left on 11 minutes and nodded it past the dive of Asmir Begovic. It is not often that Terry gets caught out by those kinds of goals and Chelsea, after a bright start, found themselves chasing the game.

Bilic’s team have been unbeaten against Crystal Palace and Sunderland since he adapted to a shape similar to Chelsea’s, with three at the back and, for this tie, Lanzini, Dimitri Payet and Antonio deployed as a front three. Payet seemed to have a good shout for a penalty on 15 minutes when Kante tried to nick the ball away from him in the area and brought the Frenchman down.

On that occasion the referee Craig Pawson allowed play to go on and there was a good chance for Antonio to finish that he wasted. Generally speaking, West Ham had the better chances in the first half, Antonio beating Luiz  and crossing for Lanzini who flicked the ball wide. Pedro Obiang had a sweet low hit well saved by Begovic.

Batshuayi missed the best chance of Chelsea’s first half just before the break and it got a lot worse for them within three minutes of the restart when they made a mess of clearing a shot saved by Begovic and ended up conceding the second West Ham goal. It was Willian who failed to read Kante’s clearance and allowed Cresswell to seize possession, square to Noble who picked out Fernandes to drill in the second.

Conte said later that he was pleased that his team had chased the game until the very end which was correct – they never gave up but the players had given themselves too much to do by then. The second goal, he said, had caught his team out and changed the dynamic of the game.
Fernandes, the Swiss Under-21 who cost £5.5 million from Sion, was tidy along the right side and took his chance very well. It prompted Conte to start pulling out the young ones and rolling out his big guns to try to retrieve the situation. After Costa came on, Hazard and Pedro followed soon after in the place of Chalobah and Aina.

Costa created one good chance for Willian but also missed the chances that came his way, standing on the ball on one occasion – a moment that bizarrely convinced referee Pawson to book Winston Reid. Free on goal late on, the Chelsea striker lashed one wide and West Ham held firm until the very last Chelsea attack when Cahill slammed home a loose ball in the area.

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Mail:

West Ham 2-1 Chelsea: Cheikhou Kouyate's incredible header and Edimilson Fernandes strike secure passage to League Cup last-eight for hosts

Cheikhou Kouyate sent West Ham into an early lead through a pinpoint header from the edge of the box
Edimilson Fernandes struck with his left foot to double West Ham's lead against Chelsea on Wednesday
Gary Cahill scored from close range for the visitors in the dying minutes of the encounter
N'Golo Kante missed an opportunity to open the scoring for Chelsea during the opening exchanges

By MATT BARLOW FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Bilic was rightly proud of the achievement and fought for the right to bask in it a little longer, rather than discuss events surrounding security and segregation.

Who can blame him? The West Ham has suffered this season but there have been signs of a breakthrough since the international break, last month.
Scratchy victories against Crystal Palace and Sunderland were followed by this, a fluent attacking performance, with traces of last season, and the result could have been more emphatic.

Cheikhou Kouyate headed West Ham into the lead and Edmilson Fernandes put them two goals up with his first goal for the club, early in the second-half, before they were forced to dig in to defend as Chelsea unleashed Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Pedro from the bench in a late bid to rescue the tie.

Gary Cahill pulled one back with virtually the last kick of the game but it was too late for the visitors.
Antonio Conte had paid a heavy price for making seven changes to the team which impressed against Manchester United, four days earlier, and discovered the limitations of this squad.

Chelsea had won three without conceding a goal since Conte switched to his preferred back-three formation but he will know the squad is not built with such a system in mind and the imbalance was clear as he rested some of the regulars and gave others a much-needed run.

John Terry, injured at Swansea six weeks ago, was back in the centre of the defensive trio, flanked by David Luiz and Cahill, and it was Chelsea’s captain who was beaten in the air by Kouyate for the opener.

Mark Noble angled the ball from the West Ham left towards the edge of Chelsea’s penalty box where Kouyate climbed early, up above Terry and flashed a header inside the post.

It might have been more. Manuel Lanzini and Aaron Cresswell combined on the left to set up Dimitri Payet who thought he had been nudged from behind by N’Golo Kante as he prepared to shoot.
Referee Craig Pawson ignored Payet’s appeal for a foul as the ball spilled to Michail Antonio, and he dragged it wide with his left foot when he ought to have hit the target.

The first save of the game had been by Darren Randolph from N’Golo Kante but the rhythm of the game soon shifted. Chelsea were not the compact and efficient unit they were against United.
The wing backs, Ola Aina and Cesar Azpilicueta, both defenders by trade, were deep which allowed the home team to dominate midfield areas.

West Ham sliced Chelsea open with relative ease. Antonio rolled away from Luiz in an inside-left channel and found Lanzini who applied a disappointingly feeble finish with the outside of his right foot when the pass was begging to be smashed with his left foot.

Asmir Begovic flew to his right to deny Pedro Obiang on the half-volley from distance before a Chelsea flurry before the interval.

Michy Batshauyi was denied by Randolph and then skied a golden opportunity to equalise from a cross supplied by Oscar, who also went close in this spell of pressure.
But Fernandes burst the momentum when he made it 2-0, three minutes after the break.
Conte made a tweak to this back-three, moving Luiz into the centre with Terry left and Cahill right but they remained vulnerable.

Begovic saved from Payet before Noble worked to recycle possession and found Fernandes on the right, who cut inside and beat the ‘keeper with the help of a slight deflection from Terry’s heel.
Antonio close again before the Chelsea manager sent on Costa, Hazard and Pedro in a bid to rescue the tie. Batshuayi, Nathaniel Chalobah and Aina were the three to make way.

Within seconds of making his way onto the pitch, Hazard had been taken out by a fierce tackle by Noble. Welcome to the cup tie. West Ham were braced to defend their lead – and they had to defend because Conte’s team summoned a strong finish.
There was one penalty appeal for hand-ball and another for a trip by Winston Reid on Hazard. Neither were given by referee Pawson who took the view the visitors were falling over when they reached sight of goal.

Oscar flicked a chance into the side-netting but Bilic’s back-three of Reid, Kouyate and Angelo Ogbonna looked stronger and more resilient than Chelsea’s.
Willian pulled a chance wide after linking up with Costa on the break. Costa went close, six minutes from the end, clipping a shot over Randolph but wide.
Terry glanced a header wide from a free-kick by Willian before Cahill pounced in stoppage time when West Ham’s focus finally wilted and they failed to clear another Willian set-piece.

By this time, eyes were drifting towards the scuffling in the stands. Bilic said he had to remind Cresswell to keep his mind on the game.
The goal was too late to change the direction of the game. West Ham move into the last eight, and Manchester United.
More importantly for Bilic, they are back in the groove

MATCH FACTS

WEST HAM (3-4-3): Randolph 7; Kouyate 7, Reid 7, Ogbonna 6.5; Fernandes 6.5 (Feghouli 67, 6), Noble 7.5, Obiang 6.5, Cresswell 6.5; Lanzini 6 (Ayew 78), Antonio 7 (Zaza 82), Payet 7
Subs not used : Adrian, Nordtveit, Collins, Fletcher
Booked: Noble, Reid
Manager: Slaven Bilic 6.5

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Begovic 6; Luiz 6, Terry 5, Cahill 6; Azpilicueta 6, Chalobah 6 (Hazard 6.5), Kante 6.5, Aina 6 (Pedro 67, 6); Willian 6.5, Batshuayi 5 (Costa 55, 6.5), Oscar 6
Subs not used : Eduardo, Alonso, Matic, Solanke
Manager : Antonio Conte 5

MOM: Mark Noble
Referee : Craig Pawson 6
Attendance : 49,597

HOW MANY CHANGES DID BOTH SIDES MAKE FOR THE LEAGUE CUP TIE?

WEST HAM 2
Just minor tweaks for Slaven Bilic, after the 1-0 win over Sunderland — although he did switch goal-keepers.
IN: Randolph, Cresswell.
OUT: Adrian, Zaza.

CHELSEA 7
Antonio Conte gave Nathaniel Chalobah his first start of the season as the Italian rotated his entire forward line for the trip across London.
IN: Begovic, Terry, Aina, Chalobah, Willian, Oscar, Batshuayi.
OUT: Courtois, Alonso, Hazard, Moses, Matic, Pedro, Costa.