West Ham 0-1

Telegraph:

West Ham 1 Chelsea 0: Antonio Conte concedes defeat in title race after David Moyes masterclass

Sam Wallace

It was this time last year that Antonio Conte’s Chelsea were five victories into a 10-game winning streak that broke the rest of the Premier League, and just as the Italian knows when a team are in position to win titles, so he can spot one that is failing.

The Chelsea manager was unequivocal in the aftermath of this, his side’s fourth defeat in 16, that not only were the champions out of the title race but, on this form, they had never been in it. A victory for Manchester City in their game in hand would stretch their lead over Chelsea to 14 points before the presents have been wrapped for Christmas, and now we will see another side of the Chelsea manager, and his relationship with the club.
It would be right to say that, bitterly disappointed after defeat to Marko Arnautovic’s first West Ham goal, Conte looked like he a man who could fall out with the club’s hierarchy if things get worse. When asked whether the widening gap would change his plans for the January transfer window he replied, with the glassy-eyed stare: “I can give my opinion but the last decision is the club’s and it is their right to do this.”

Conte said that his players were tired and he seemed also to be conceding some kind of defeat. It was a day when his best player Eden Hazard had not been able to get the team out of trouble and Tiemoue Bakayoko, one of those new summer signings, was taken off at half-time. Michy Batshuayi was never given the opportunity to score the equaliser, and Alvaro Morata missed a chance with seven minutes remaining that should really have been the equaliser.
“To talk about the title race after a defeat is a bit strange, especially if this is the fourth defeat of the season in 16 games,” Conte said. “When you have this start, it is impossible to think you are in the title race. My experience is this – if you want to stay in the race for the title, in the first part of the season you can lose once or twice. 

“After 16 games if you lose four it means you never started this race.”
He was beaten by David Moyes, who put together a shrewd West Ham performance that was organised, disciplined and did the club’s new manager great credit. Retaining Adrian Lopez ahead of Joe Hart was just one part of it, but really the major factors were his use of Michal Antonio and Arnautovic to stretch Chelsea on the counter-attack and a confident defensive performance. There was no man-to-man marking job on Hazard and, instead, Pedro Obiang blocked the space in front of the two centre-halves.

In the heart of the defence, Winston Reid was the game’s standout player, escaping with a tug on the collar of Morata’s shirt in the first half and generally dealing well with the Spanish centre-forward.
Moyes said that after the narrow defeat to Manchester City, this was the performance he believed his team had been ready to deliver.
“We had taken confidence from the City game because of our performance but ultimately we got nothing out of it. We need to stop conceding goals. We have got players who score. We kept a clean sheet – when did West Ham last keep a clean sheet?”

The reply to that question came from one long-serving West Ham correspondent who offered the answer “1983”. It might feel that long but this was the fourth of the season, and Moyes could see the funny side. Through that painful relegation season with Sunderland and then Real Sociedad, and Manchester United before that, it has been a long time since Moyes has been able to bask in the glow of victory over major opposition – not since a win over Barcelona in January 2015.
“I used to say in the early days with Bill Kenwright [Everton chairman] that the best feeling for a manager used to be the Saturday night feeling,” Moyes said. “When you get a win and how good it makes you feel. I came off, went into the dressing room, praised the players, put my jacket on and thought, ‘Oh no, I’ve got Arsenal in midweek’.”

The situation remains delicate at West Ham for their new manager, especially with the chairman David Sullivan’s admissions this week of regrets over the stadium move and the signing last January of Robert Snodgrass and Jose Fonte. The latter was in the Sky Sports studio for the afternoon. Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho, Javier Hernandez and Andre Ayew were all left on the bench by Moyes as he tried to catch Chelsea out on the counter-attack.

The goal came within the first five minutes for Arnautovic, his first in this his 13th appearance for the club since joining in the summer. The ball was worked well from the touchline starting with Pablo Zabaleta, to Arnautovic, to Michail Antonio, Manuel Lanzini and finally back to the Austria international for the delicate job of stroking his shot past Thibaut Courtois.
“The two strikers we had were the two with the power and pace,” Moyes said. “There will be other games when we need Chicarito [Hernandez] for his finishing or when we need Andy Carroll for his aerial prowess. At the moment the level of the teams we are playing we need the boys who can cause the opposition problems on the counter attack.”
Conte tried to change the game at half-time, bringing on Pedro for Bakayoko, and then later Willian and Victor Moses to give his side some width. But it was a poor performance from Chelsea, lacking the imagination that gave City a victory against a similarly robust West Ham.

There were very few times when Moyes’ defence looked like they were under pressure or out of shape. “We created the chances and didn’t take them and now we are talking about a defeat,” Conte said. “Many players were tired and it is normal when you play every three days. We started our pre-season with the same players, a lot of players are always playing and you have to pay something.”
By which he meant he does not believe that this is a squad capable of challenging for the title again. He was never likely to stay beyond this season and days like this only serve to show how fragile that relationship with the club has become.

=============================

Mail:

West Ham 1-0 Chelsea:

Marko Arnautovic dazzles to hand David Moyes first win as Hammers boss as Premier League champions slump to shock defeat
David Moyes has earned his first victory since taking over as the West Ham boss after beating Chelsea 1-0
Marko Arnautovic scored the only goal of the game after just six minutes to earn a surprising three points
They were unlucky not to have had the chance to score a second after the referee waved away a penalty claim
Chelsea will have to regroup after a substandard performance saw them suffer their first defeat since October

By Rob Draper

Sometimes you need a marquee performance to turn around a season and even a club, something that stamps both your personality and authority on a place.
Maybe David Moyes got that from his West Ham side on Sunday with his all-important first victory at the club in his fifth game. Certainly the patrons of the London Stadium haven't seen anything this good this season. Some would say they haven't seen anything quite like this since moving into the new ground.
On the bench, behind Moyes, sat some big names in Andy Carroll, Joe Hart and Javier Hernandez. In the stands were restless supporters, some of whom might have been sceptical when Moyes arrived last month. But it's hard to argue with a side this much improved.

They roared their delight at the end and sang their club song as heartily as has been heard in these parts for some time. It's not Tottenham or Millwall but victory over Chelsea is almost as good as it gets.
And though Moyes doesn't do ecstatic, he couldn't hide his pleasure. It was his first home win for a year and his side had done exactly as planned and contained the champions. 'When was the last time West Ham kept a clean sheet?' asked Moyes, genuinely intrigued. '1983,' came back the reply.
The correct answer was September but doing it against Swansea and stifling Eden Hazard, unplayable last weekend, are quite different propositions. 'The best feeling for a manager is that Saturday night feeling when you get a win, how it makes you feel' said Moyes afterwards. Neither he nor West Ham have had much of that lately.
There's plenty more to be done here, of course. 'But I come off from the dressing room there, praised the players for the win and then put my jacket on and thought: "Oh no! I've got Arsenal in a big week." I've got a big smile but I've got to get back to work.'
It wasn't just the win, however, which cheered the soul. This was a team with a plan, building on that narrow defeat at Manchester City; a team which could barely get out of second gear a month ago, surpassing the Premier League for running and energy.

Here was Marko Arnautovic, challenged by his manager to prove himself, sprinting in behind a Chelsea back three and causing endless problems. And there was Michail Antonio doing the same, though both came off early, Arnautovic with a calf injury, and were reminded by Moyes he expects that level of energy for 90 minutes.
And here were the Premier League champions looking, frankly, tired and short of ideas. There was an awful moment for the home fans on 82 minutes when Alvaro Morata looked sure to score. But otherwise it was a measured performance from West Ham and an insipid one from Chelsea, quite out of character for both clubs in very different ways.
'We have to change,' said Antonio Conte who freely admitted that four defeats in 16 games does not make a title challenge. 'We will try to do our best this season but if you remember I said it would be very, very tough. I don't want to remind you but it's true.
'Many players were tired today. It's normal when you play every three days. We started our pre-season with the same players and a lot of players playing almost always. For sure, you have to pay something for this. Today our ideas were not clear and in the final pass we made a lot of mistakes. We created chances to score but we didn't take them. We can do better.'
They can, but you feel sure in private Conte will add that his squad is no match for Manchester City or United this season.

West Ham started in a frenzy, yet, unusually for them, it was an effective outpouring of energy. On seven minutes, Antonio played in Arnautovic, who exchanged a delightful pass with Manuel Lanzini. Arnautovic still had plenty to do, wrong footing Cesar Azplicueta and finishing past Thibaut Courtois. It was an exceptional goal.
You feared a bright start might quickly fizzle out. Yet uncharacteristically West Ham kept positional discipline in their 3-4-1-2 formation.
Of course, Chelsea threatened at times. Eden Hazard drove just across goal on 21 minutes and N'Golo Kante forced a good save from Adrian on 28 minutes. From the resulting corner David Zappacosta forced another save. Yet Chelsea had been properly knocked off their stride, with Pedro Obiang not allowing Hazard the space on which he thrives and Alvaro Morata a frustrated, lonely figure.
Chelsea continued to create half chances in the second half, though none so good that they were decisive. The best of a bunch came on 58 minutes when Zappacosta went just wide from long range.

But peak excitement came when Arnautovic flicked the ball past an unsettled Anders Christiansen, who, stood within the box, stopped its flight with his hand. Referee Anthony Taylor judged it accidental but Christiansen was lucky.
What was most impressive about West Ham though was their determination not to capitulate. Until late on, they did not offer Chelsea an easy route to goal. They insisted Conte's team should scrap for any half chance they got. And that in itself was a huge improvement.
As they tired, their discipline did wane. On 82 minutes, Chelsea should have been level, N'Golo Kante playing the through ball to Morata with Arthur Masuaka out of position and playing the striker onside. It was the defensive lapse for which Chelsea had been waiting and Morata struck but managed to snatch his shot wide. West Ham would survive. Now the challenge is to do more than just that.

West Ham (3-4-3): Adrian 7; Reid,7, Ogbonna, 7.5, Creswell, 7; Zabaleta, 7, Obiang, 7, Noble, 7, Masuaka, 8; Lanzini, 7.5, Antonio, 7.5, (Ayew 79, 6.5) Arnautovic, 8.5 ,(Sakho, 69, 6.5)
Subs not used: Carroll, Hernandez, Hart, Fernandes, Rice
Goalscorers: Arnautovic (6)
Booked: Arnautovic, Adrian, Reid, Cresswell, Obiang, Masuaku
Manager: David Moyes

Chelsea: (3-5-2): Courtois 6; Cahill, 5.5, Christensen, 5, Azpilicutea, 5.5; Zappcosta, 5.5, (Willian 64, 6)Fabregas, 6, Kante, 6, Bakayoko, 4.5 (Pedro, 45, 6), Alonso, 5 (Moses 6); Hazard, 6, Morata 5
Subs not used: Caballero, Rudiger, Batshuayi, Ampadu
Goalscorers: NONE
Booked: Alonso
Manager: Antonio Conte

Referee: Anthony Taylor
Attendance: 56,953