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regular-article-logo Monday, 23 December 2024

Bizarre strike stuns Chelsea

Masuaku caught out Edouard Mendy with what looked like a cross but the ball flew into the near corner for the Congolese full-back’s first goal in his Premier League appearance

Agencies London Published 05.12.21, 02:38 AM
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy fails to save a shot from Arthur Masuaku (not in picture), which leads to West Ham's winning goal on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy fails to save a shot from Arthur Masuaku (not in picture), which leads to West Ham's winning goal on Saturday. Getty Images

West Ham United stunned Premier League leaders Chelsea with a 3-2 win on Saturday after coming from behind twice and then claiming all three points with
a bizarre late goal from subs titute defender Arthur Masuaku.

The Hammers clinched the win in the 87th minute when Masuaku caught out Edouard Mendy with what looked like a cross but the ball flew into the near corner for the Congolese full-back’s first goal in his 96th Premier League appearance.

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“It was very fortunate, the goal, let’s not kid ourselves. Truthfully I didn’t think we played that well today, but we got the goals,” West Ham manager David Moyes told BT Sport.
Chelsea had seemed to be in control of the game after 28 minutes when Thiago Silva scored with a header from a Mason Mount corner that West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski could only touch on to a post before it went in.

Moments later, the 37-year-old Brazilian saved Chelsea at the other end when he cleared Vladimir Coufal’s goal-bound shot.

But the European champions gifted the hosts a way back into the game in the 40th minute when Jorginho put his goalkeeper Edouard Mendy under pressure with a back pass.
Mendy brought down Jarrod Bowen for a penalty that was converted by Manuel Lanzini.
It took Chelsea only four minutes to get back in front when Mount, back to his best after an absence due to wisdom teeth problems, connected with a long pass from Hakim Ziyech for a perfect volley that caught out Fabianski at his near post.

Chelsea brought on Romelu Lukaku at the start of the second half to replace the hobbling Kai Havertz.

But West Ham drew level again in the 56th minute when Jarrord Bowen fired in hard and low from the edge of the box.

As both sides pushed for a winner, Bowen could not convert a cross from Michail Antonio in the 75th minute while a Jorginho shot was deflected wide before Masuaku’s surprise winner.

It was the first time Chelsea had conceded more than one goal in any competition this season.
For West Ham, this was a famous day, and Masuaku was the hero, accidental or otherwise, his remarkable shot in the 87th minute producing a derby victory against the Premier League leaders and European champions.
Bringing together two of the league’s most tactically wily managers, the game was detailed and positional but still had a derby’s physical edge. West Ham channelled aggression through their pressing, which led to their first equaliser, from the Lanzini penalty.

In the second half, West Ham upped their intensity further and improved how they moved the ball and after excellent work from Antonio and a Thomas Soucek cross the ball fell to Coufal, who squeezed a pass inside to Bowen. He beat Mendy with a precise and confident left-footed finish. 2-2.
From there, the likeliest winners were always West Ham, who went very close when Antonio centred and Bowen knocked it wide. Then came Masuaku’s maverick glory.

Origi, the saviour

Liverpool’s Divock Origi came off the bench to score an injury-time winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Origi picked up a cross from Mohamed Salah before swivelling and thrashing the ball home to spare his usually lethal fellow strikers’ blushes after they had missed a hatful of chances.
The 1-0 result took Liverpool to 34 points after 15 games, a point above Chelsea. Wolves threatened Liverpool repeatedly on the counter-attack and could have taken the lead. But Raul Jimenez fired over the bar and Adama Traore was just beaten to the ball by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson after a slick passing move.
Wolves are eighth in the league on 21 points.

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