London (AFP)
Chelsea has resumed its march forward and clings to the leading wagon of the English Championship thanks to its victory more difficult than the score suggests (3-0) against West Ham, Monday, at the end of the 14th day.
With 25 points, Chelsea overtook Tottenham to grab 5th place, with the difference in goal, in a very tight-knit hunting peloton behind Liverpool which has 31 units.
After two defeats in a row, Frank Lampard's men needed reassurance against an opponent who has not been successful for them lately and who, if successful, would have overtaken them in the standings.
The Hammers, obviously much less talented than their opponents, gave them a hard time with a more controlled and constructed game, while the collective expression remains very perfectible among the Blues.
But they didn't get a single shot at Stamford Bridge, out of 6 attempts, when Chelsea were much more precise with 7 shots on target.
The match had started very well for Frank Lampard's players, whose work on offensive set pieces paid off.
They opened the scoring in the 10th minute on a header from Thiago Silva after a corner from Mason Mount, their eighth achievement in this exercise on 29 goals (1-0).
But the sequel was more laborious, symbolized by a really struggling Timo Werner in the game.
Goalless for nine matches, the German found the top of the bar in the 89th minute, but mostly missed a lot of crosses and shots.
Ironically, one of his failed strikes turned into an assist for the second goal, scored by Tammy Abraham, who started in the lead instead of Olivier Giroud, and who deflected his teammate's crushed attempt to score up close (2-0, 78th).
Two minutes later, Abraham closed the scoring by scoring at a tight angle while the opposing goalkeeper was on the ground after a collision with an opponent (3-0, 80th).
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