THE SPECIAL SON

Hammers keeper is hero as Pellegrini finally stops rot

HE cracked a smile, he broke a streak and he fixed a leak. Maybe there is life yet in the reign of Manuel Pellegrini.

For how long, no one really knows. But for now, with the end of that run of seven games without victory, he can breathe with just a little more comfort.

Not only because this was a superb result against a good team that was procured by the delightful right foot of a left-back. But also because of its manner and namely the degree of difficulty in the climb, with this being a game where so much of West Ham’s work was done without the ball.

The numbers on that can tell a tale of sorts—Chelsea had 65 per cent of possession and 19 shots. West Ham had five goes at goal and made 16 fouls to zero from Chelsea. There are a couple of interpretations for that kind of data, the least kind of which would be that it was a smash and grab, capped by Aaron Cresswell’s lovely moment. But it was not.

West Ham had the best chance of the first half and the best of the second. They did a better job of protecting their goal, they did a better job of attacking Chelsea’s and so they won.

Not much else needs to be said, except it should, because it also has to be pointed out that results like this one, in a game like this, reveal something important. In this case it is that they were fighting and chasing, and that is always a good look for a manager in deep strife because the opposite is usually terminal.

There have been plenty of indicators lately that Pellegrini’s race is run but a first win since September 22, a first clean sheet in the same period and a first win at Chelsea since 2002, count for something. On that middle point, the goals had been pouring in. If we broaden the winless run to cover their League Cup hammering at Oxford, they had conceded three or more i n four of eight games. Woeful. An element of that was poor old Roberto, the stand- in keeper for Lukasz Fabianski.

He had contributed in a variety of questionable ways, with one goal coming against him on average every 41 minutes. Here, he was dropped and in came the son of club legend Alvin Martin.

David Martin was hardly a cavalry call, given he managed only 11 Championship games across two seasons at Millwall and had never played in the Premier League. But credit to the 33-yearold, no one made it past.

In truth, he was rarely tested, though that was more a reflection of the home side’s finishing and the way West Ham often pressured Chelsea into difficult shots. Still, Martin did his job and was in tears with his father at the whistle.

For Chelsea, this was a bit of a mess and takes their winless run to three across the competitions. It is

Frank Lampard’s first mini rut and one topped by the irritation of losing to his former club. But he was keen to stand by his players, blaming the loss on sub-par performances on the occasion rather than sub-par squad depth on a day when he made five changes to the side held in Valencia in midweek.

The most notable absentee was Tammy Abraham because of his hip injuy and it is reasonable to wonder if Chelsea would have better handled their chances with him there. Instead they out-shot West Ham 12 to five in the first half but got nothing for it. The best chance went to Pellegrini’s side when Kepa Arrizabalaga had the reflexes to save Michail Antonio’s header.

The sucker punch came in the second half after Felipe Anderson and Pablo Fornals played Cresswell into the box. His cutback left Reece James facing the wrong direction and with his weaker right foot he curled across goal and inside the far post. ‘How s*** must you be, we’re winning away,’ went up the chant and no great argument was forthcoming, in the stands or on the pitch. Chelsea kept reaching that notional final third and kept coming up short. West Ham had chances from backto-back set-pieces and came close to scoring each time.

They also had an Antonio goal disallowed by t he VAR for a handball. For the second time in a few days a lengthy review went Chelsea’s way. That reprieve amounted to nothing for the home team. West Ham got over the line, Chelsea suffered an embarrassing loss and Alvin Martin cried with his son. Somewhere in all that, Pellegrini was spotted smiling. Funny times indeed.