OPINION
West Ham United handed manager Manuel Pellegrini another point on Sunday as his team shared the spoils with Chelsea.
The Hammers played out a 0-0 draw with the Blues at London Stadium on Sunday in order to register another point on the board, bringing their tally for the season up to four.
Michail Antonio – who replaced Marko Arnautovic in the first team – spurned a number of chances in the first half to put the Hammers ahead, and Andriy Yarmolenko also missed a great opportunity that could have won the game for the Irons.
However a manager can learn just as much about his team from a victory as a draw, and Pellegrini will no doubt have learned a lot from watching his side draw to the Blues for more reasons than one.
Forever West Ham has comprised a list of three things that the Hammers would have learned from their performance against the Blues:
Antonio lets his teammates down in striker audition
Antonio had a number of chances in the first half to put the Hammers in the lead, but he spurned a number of them, much to the frustration of many fans. The £70,000-a-week [Spotrac] ace did well to create goal opportunities, but he even missed a sitter from close range that was saved by the Chelsea goalkeeper. West Ham cannot afford to miss these sorts of chances against a top team like the Blues, as they will not be presented to the Irons very often. Overall, he was not very clinical in his finishing, which shows that he was not able to step up in the absence of first teamer Marko Arnautovic. He must do better, for this time he failed to repay Pellegrini for his show of faith.
West Ham do not miss Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere was absent for last Sunday’s win and he was absent from the midfield again this Sunday. However, his absence was not really missed as the midfield trio of Mark Noble, Pedro Obiang and Declan Rice shone once again in the middle of the park. The Hammers have been far more attacking with these three, and this was only reinforced in the clash with Chelsea as they released the attacking force more often than their opponents would have liked. Pellegrini is not really struggling now 26-year-old Wilshere is sidelined with injury – and he must be forgotten about while the new look midfield shine.
West Ham are able to get positive results against top teams
If anything, West Ham were unlucky not to gain three points from this game. Andriy Yarmolenko had the best chance of the game, and Manuel Pellegrini would have wondered what could have been if he had put away that opportunity. However, they have proved that they are able to get positive results against the top teams, especially Chelsea, who have been unbeaten so far this season. Nevertheless, that is not to take anything away from this result. A point is still a point, and Pellegrini will be delighted at the way his team came out and brought the match to the Blues.
