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Chelsea Stage Fightback To Beat West Ham, Climb To Fourth Place
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Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage-time winner capped Chelsea’s thrilling fightback from two goals down to beat West Ham 3-2 in a dramatic London derby on Saturday.
Liam Rosenior’s side trailed to first-half goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville at Stamford Bridge.
But Chelsea ignored the half-time jeers from their angry fans, staging a brilliant revival after the break.
Joao Pedro reduced the deficit before Marc Cucurella headed the equaliser.
For the first time in the Premier League era, Chelsea came from two down at half-time to win thanks to their captain, as Fernandez netted in stoppage-time.
West Ham’s Jean-Clair Todibo was sent off for violent conduct after tempers boiled over in the final seconds.
Rosenior Continues Impressive Start
In what Rosenior had labelled Chelsea’s “biggest match of the season,” the Blues showed their character in memorable fashion.
They climbed to fourth in the Premier League as Rosenior became only the fourth English manager to win his first three Premier League games after Bobby Gould, Sam Allardyce, and Craig Shakespeare.
Rosenior has overseen six wins from seven games in all competitions since arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca.
The highlight of Rosenior’s impressive start had come on Wednesday when the Blues fought back from 2-1 down to beat Napoli 3-2 in Italy, securing a place in the Champions League last 16.
But this was arguably even more eye-catching than that success, given how Rosenior turned the tide after Chelsea’s wretched first half.
Rosenior will bid to work another miracle on Tuesday when Chelsea look to overturn a 3-2 deficit in the League Cup semi-final second leg at Premier League leaders Arsenal.
From Boos To Bedlam
He made seven changes after the victory in Naples, with Cole Palmer back in the starting line-up after starring from the bench in midweek.
Chelsea looked out of sync following the reshuffle, and West Ham took advantage to go ahead in the seventh minute.
Bowen wriggled into space on the edge of the penalty area before curling in a cross that eluded the outstretched boot of West Ham striker Pablo and caught Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez flat-footed as it drifted into the far corner.
Rosenior suffered another blow when winger Jamie Gittens limped off injured after a challenge with Summerville.
Summerville inflicted more pain on Chelsea in the 36th minute.
In a flowing move from West Ham, Bowen picked out Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and his cross was perfectly weighted for Summerville to thump a superb finish past Sanchez from 12 yards.
Alejandro Garnacho’s dismal display drew the ire of angry Chelsea fans, and the Argentine winger was put out of his misery as Rosenior took him off at half-time.
Rosenior also removed Benoit Badiashile and Jorrel Hato, but Sanchez had to save a fierce blast from Mateus Fernandes after the restart.
Sanchez saved again to repel Bowen’s snap-shot, yet just as Chelsea looked down and out, Rosenior’s changes finally paid dividends.
Wesley Fofana’s buccaneering run climaxed with a precise cross towards Joao Pedro, who rose highest to head past Alphonse Areola from close-range.
The Brazilian’s fifth goal in his last five games was followed by Chelsea’s 70th-minute leveller.
Malo Gusto nodded Enzo Fernandez’s cross to Liam Delap for a chance that bounced down off the bar towards Cucurella, whose diving header beat Areola from close-range.
Chelsea were rampant, and Fernandez bagged the winner two minutes into stoppage-time.
Joao Pedro pulled his pass across goal, and Fernandez thumped past Areola to celebrate his 150th Chelsea appearance in memorable fashion.
Todibo couldn’t handle West Ham’s collapse and he saw red after grabbing Joao Pedro around the throat.
Alexander Isak struck twice inside the opening nine minutes as Liverpool secured their first English Premier League victory of the season with a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town on Friday.
The Swedish forward put the visitors in control almost immediately, ending a tense opening spell with two clinical finishes that gave Liverpool a comfortable cushion before the hosts could settle.
Liverpool needed only six minutes to break the deadlock. Cody Gakpo created the opportunity with his effort forcing a save, but Isak reacted quickest to the rebound and fired home.
Three minutes later, Gakpo again turned provider, picking out Isak on the left. The striker made no mistake, sending a low effort into the bottom corner to double Liverpool’s advantage.
The two goals took Isak’s season tally to three in as many league appearances, already matching the number he managed throughout the whole of the previous campaign.
With the visitors firmly in command, Ipswich struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, while Liverpool concentrated on protecting their advantage after the interval.
The Reds appeared to have earned a chance to extend their lead when they appealed for a penalty in the second half, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review found an offside in the build-up.
Ipswich pushed forward late in search of a way back into the contest, but Liverpool’s defence held firm and the hosts were unable to produce the finishing touch required to trouble the visitors.
The victory extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run at Portman Road to seven matches and delivered their first clean sheet of the campaign.
The result also gave coach Andoni Iraola his first clean sheet since taking charge during the summer.
Liverpool’s three points moved them into fifth position in the Premier League standings with five points from three matches.
An F-4 Phantom military aircraft crashed Saturday at a base outside Athens during an airshow, Greek news agency ANA reported.
The circumstances of the crash were unclear, as was the fate of the two pilots aboard, local media said.
The aircraft had just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed, said a journalist from public broadcaster ERT who was at the scene.
There was an explosion immediately after the crash, which happened before thousands of visitors watching the annual “Athens Flying Week”.
A fire service helicopter was dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, ERT reported.
Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a trip to Thessaloniki’s International Fair to visit the scene of the accident.
Serena and Venus Williams electrified Arthur Ashe Stadium but fell to Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint in three thrilling sets in their return to the US Open women’s doubles on Friday.
The superstar sisters, whose 14 Grand Slam doubles titles include two US Opens, rallied from a break down in the third set and led the deciding 10-point tiebreaker 5-0 but fell 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7).
Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, hadn’t played Grand Slam doubles since the 2022 US Open and last won a title together at Roland Garros in 2018.
They showed flashes of their brilliant best, Serena proving particularly dangerous patrolling the net but struggling with her serve.
After recovering from losing the first set to level the match in the second-set tiebreaker.
They belted no fewer than 20 winners in the set, holding serve throughout, and leveled the match when Joint smacked an overhead long to roars from the crowd.
Chan and Joint regrouped to seize a 4-2 lead in the third. The sisters rallied, but get to the finish line as Taiwan’s Chan and Joint fought back superbly to clinch the victory.
The 44-year-old had returned to major singles play as a Wimbledon wild card four years after “evolving away” from the game.
At the All-England club, she lost to Joint in a Centre Court clash that captured the imagination of both diehard and casual tennis fans.
Even that experience didn’t prepare Joint for the atmosphere on the cavernous Ashe Stadium.
The sisters received a thunderous ovation when they took court, all business in understated white outfits.
Every blistering volley and overhead smash from the Americans received raucous cheers, and when they sprinted to the lead in the decisive 10-point tiebreaker, the noise was deafening
“The atmosphere was surreal,” Joint said. “Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special.”
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