Chelsea’s loss to West Ham at the weekend was strange for many reasons. For one thing, the Blues haven’t lost a game they were leading at half time since 2018, so that sensation was pretty novel.
Not only that, but they also took the lead twice in this game. After going 1-0 up and then conceding a silly goal, they took a 2-1 lead, only to let it slip again,
Then the final West Ham goal, which turned an already unfair draw into a shocking loss, was truly freakish, adding to the sense that the whole thing was a crazy fever dream.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was on the pitch for the whole game, and he seemed to feel the same way, given what he’s said after the game.
“I thought we played really well in the first half and we were in control of the game,” Loftus-Cheek said in quotes on Chelsea’s official website.
“Even in the second half, I felt in control for the majority of it so it’s confusing coming off thinking how we’ve lost that given how dominant we felt.
“We just have the feeling of “how can we play like that and lose?†We’ve come to a tough stadium to play in, taken control of the game and at half-time we’re thinking we just need to do that again and if we play like that the chances are we’ll score more but the second half was slightly different so it’s a bit confusing really.”
Unlike in the games against Burnley and Manchester United however, this wasn’t a battering where we created a slew of chances and just couldn’t force the ball in.
In fact, despite dominating the ball for long periods, there weren’t a load of clear cut chances at all. Thiago Silva’s goal was from a corner, and Mason Mount’s was a wonder strike.
For all the possession we had in the second half, we didn’t create a huge amount, and we were playing around the edge of West Ham’s box for long periods without breaking through their defensive lines.
