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Celebrating Chelsea players
Champions League-chasing Chelsea fought back from two goals down to win in stoppage time against West Ham in a dramatic London derby at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Fernandez's 92nd-minute winner sparked wild scenes of celebration, after trailing 2-0 to goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville.
New manager Liam Rosenior's substitutes had hauled Chelsea back into the game as half-time introductions Joao Pedro and Marc Cucurella both scored to level the match.
It was a blow for West Ham who dominated the first half. Bowen's in-swinging cross beat Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who was unable to claim the ball as Pablo threatened to get a touch on its way through to open the scoring.
That seventh-minute strike came either side of two shots on target from new striker Taty Castellanos, while Summerville curled home a second goal from inside the box after a move down the right involving Bowen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Cole Palmer's 30-yard free-kick was Chelsea's only shot on target in a dismal first half.
The hosts were booed off at half-time and Rosenior made three changes, removing the struggling left-side trio of Jorrel Hato, Benoit Badiashile and Alejandro Garnacho – at fault for both goals - for Joao Pedro, Cucurella and Wesley Fofana.
After West Ham efforts from Matheus Fernandes and Bowen were saved early in the second half, Chelsea began to dominate.
Pressure built as Liam Delap went close and a long-range Moises Caicedo strike was pushed away, before Fofana's deep cross was headed in by Joao Pedro to pull a goal back in the 57th minute.
Thirteen minutes later, Cucurella – one of Rosenior's changes – produced a diving header to equalise after Malo Gusto's header across goal caused a goalmouth scramble.
With the crowd now behind them Chelsea pushed for a third, and while West Ham's Jean-Clair Todibo hit the post in the 86th minute, Fernandez pounced to finish Joao Pedro's cross from close range for the winner.
Todibo was shown a straight red card by referee Anthony Taylor for grabbing Joao Pedro by the neck in a wild melee at the end of the match after a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check.
The result lifts Chelsea above Manchester United into fourth place in the Premier League, while West Ham remain five points below Nottingham Forest. United and Forest play on Sunday and both have a game in hand.
Chelsea analysis: Rosenior gets it right in the end
Chelsea were booed off at half-time – but there was jubilation at the final whistle.
Such was the frustration at the interval that the normally mild-mannered Trevoh Chalobah was seen arguing with a supporter as he left the pitch, with centre-back partner Badiashile dragging him away.
It followed what was arguably Rosenior's biggest misstep since joining Chelsea - his starting XI on Saturday evening.
Seven changes from the midweek Champions League win at Napoli left Chelsea disjointed, and West Ham exploited the weaknesses.
The first goal came after Garnacho and Hato lost 50-50 duels with Bowen and Wan-Bissaka respectively, while the second resulted from the £40m summer signing from Manchester United failing to track his runner into the box.
All three players on the left side of Chelsea's defensive set-up were withdrawn at half-time - and the game was transformed.
Chelsea may have vast resources, but the biggest area where Rosenior has already made an impact is with his in-game management - an aspect for which his predecessor Enzo Maresca was often criticised.
Against Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, Garnacho was the saviour with two goals from the bench to keep Chelsea in the tie, while Rosenior's changes helped lock the door for a clean sheet his first league win as head coach against Brentford.
At Napoli, Palmer came on to provide two assists as Chelsea came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 in a fierce atmosphere at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
On each occasion, Rosenior made substitutions before the 60-minute mark, highlighting his tendency to make early changes.
It is now six wins from seven for Rosenior, with the chance for another comeback on Tuesday in the second leg at Arsenal, where Chelsea must overturn a 3-2 deficit to reach February's final.
West Ham analysis: Collapse has different flavour to one under Potter
The last time West Ham scored after seven minutes against Chelsea, they were eventually beaten 5-1 - but this collapse felt different.
In that early-season meeting, the Hammers were poor defensively at London Stadium in a one-sided contest. This time, they were simply on the wrong end of a tight match.
After two early chances in the second half, it felt as though West Ham might have deserved to be 3-0 up, but Chelsea's substitutions transformed the contest.
Even at 2-2, West Ham had an opportunity to win it, but Todibo wasted a good close-range chance.
Historically, Stamford Bridge has not been a happy hunting ground for West Ham. They have won there only once in their past 20 visits and have now lost five in a row at the ground.
Yet although West Ham have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past 21 matches, they continue to look dangerous going forward. Bowen and Summerville are in form, while Castellanos appears an upgrade on Niklas Fullkrug, now on loan at AC Milan.
Their two league wins beforehand – and three in all competitions – were deserved, with their current league position owing largely to a dismal run throughout 2025 under former boss Graham Potter.
There remains some hope of survival under Nuno Espirito Santo, but they must maintain this level of performance consistently and, with the transfer window still open, may need to add a defender or two. (BBC)