Chelsea snatch 3-2 comeback win over West Ham

LONDON: Chelsea battled from ‌two goals down to beat West Ham 3-2 in the Premier League on Saturday with a stoppage-time Enzo Fernandez winner crowning the second dramatic comeback win in four days for the Blues under new coach Liam Rosenior. The Hammers, struggling in the relegation zone, took full advantage of a careless performance in the first half by Chelsea, who started with key players on the bench after beating ​Napoli 3-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday. The visitors went ahead in the seventh minute when ‌a cross by captain Jarrod Bowen went in at the far post and half an hour later Crysencio Summerville connected with a cutback from Aaron Wan-Bissaka to double their lead. With boos from the home fans ringing in his ears, Rosenior made three ‌substitutions at the break, setting Chelsea on their way to ‍what was looking like an ‌unlikely win with two of the replacements - Joao Pedro and Marc Cucurella - scoring to ‍bring the hosts level. In the 57th minute, Joao Pedro headed home from a Wesley Fofana cross, triggering wave after wave of Chelsea attacks, and in the 70th Cucurella brought Chelsea level with a diving ⁠header after the ball rebounded off the crossbar. West Ham defender Jean-Clair Todibo wasted a chance to put the visitors back in front in the 86th minute before Fernandez completed Chelsea's comeback. Two minutes into added time, the Argentina World Cup winner timed his run into the box perfectly to connect with a pass from Joao Pedro.
Rosenior told reporters he understood ⁠the frustration of the Stamford Bridge crowd at the break.
'I would have booed us in the first ⁠half. Our performance was nowhere near the level it needed to be,' he said. 'So to see them after the ⁠game, 45 ‍minutes ‌later, so happy and delighted with what they saw from the team, makes me very proud.'
'Hopefully, this is a huge breakthrough for the squad,' said Rosenior, who joined Chelsea less than a month ago after coaching sister club Racing Strasbourg in France. 'There’s a spirit and fight and resilience in this ‌group that I really, really like.'
West Ham coach Nuno Espirito Santo said his side had been in control until they allowed Fofana too much space to cross for Chelsea's opening goal.
'And then after that, it's like survival,' he said.
Chelsea climbed to provisional fourth place in the Premier League table, two points ahead of Manchester United who host Fulham on Sunday. West Ham remained 18th, five points away from safety with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest facing Crystal ‍Palace at home on Sunday. West Ham's Todibo was sent off in the dying moments for his part in a touchline melee, adding to the challenge facing the Hammers to avoid relegation.