The Blues faced stubborn resistance from a West Ham side who looked content to settle for a point from the first whistle.

The Hammers have made it tough for the top teams this season. They have beaten Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and, in the reverse fixture, Chelsea, with their low block proving problematic to penetrate.

Taking it wide

To try and breach it yesterday, Chelsea directed most of our play down the flanks. In all, 45 per cent of our attacks came down the right-hand side of the pitch, with 30.5 per cent stemming from the left.

Many of our attacks did start centrally - Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho spent the most time in possession - before the ball was fed wide where we tried to create overloads. Mason Mount roamed across the pitch to help out, with Timo Werner and Kai Havertz given licence to drift wide.

Down our right, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was deployed at wing-back and he supplied four key passes, a game-high figure. He also completed three dribbles, more than any other player. He was often supported by Trevoh Chalobah, who strode forward from the right side of defence to set up two chances himself.

Shots away

Chalobah also stung Lukasz Fabianski’s palms in the second half, one of 26 attempts we had. In fact, Loftus-Cheek was the solitary outfielder who featured for Chelsea yesterday not to have at least one effort on goal.

Of those 26 shots, 12 were blocked, 12 struck from outside the box, and 20 came in the second half as we ramped the pressure up.

Craig Dawson was responsible for seven of those 12 blocks. Before his sending off, he also thwarted two crosses and registered a game-high seven clearances.

It took until the 57th minute for us to have our first shot on target, a deflected N’Golo Kante effort. It was the first of six on-target efforts we had. West Ham only mustered two, both Andriy Yarmolenko strikes in a matter of seconds in the 70th minute, with an offside flag raised and advantage to Chelsea given suggesting they wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Switching it up helps late charge

Our strong finish to the game, culminating in Christian Pulisic’s winner, was accelerated by the impact the three subs made. Hakim Ziyech and Pulisic moved into that right-sided space that had proved profitable for us, replacing Loftus-Cheek and Havertz. Romelu Lukaku operated as the new figurehead and it was his strength that won us the penalty.

Perhaps aided by the absence of Dawson, Pulisic burst from the right into a more central position by the penalty spot to convert Marcos Alonso’s intelligent low centre as our use of width finally broke open the Hammers’ dam. It was the Spaniard’s fifth assist of the season, and Pulisic’s seventh goal.

Leaving it late at home

Much has been made of our indifferent home form in the Premier League this season, but what must be acknowledged is this Chelsea team keep fighting until the final whistle.

We have now won eight of our 16 home league games, with half of those victories secured with goals scored in the 84th minute or later (Southampton, Leeds, Newcastle and West Ham). With any team always happy to leave the Bridge with a point, overcoming stubborn resistance requires patience, discipline and belief, three qualities the Blues showed in abundance against West Ham yesterday.