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Lot of brilliant picture in this article but can’t post them unfortunately. But still well worth a read imo.
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How Antonio and Bowen combined to help West Ham beat Chelsea
If there were any concerns over the recent form of Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen, then their performances against Chelsea offered encouragement that they are slowly getting back to their best.
While West Ham United’s 3-2 win over Chelsea boosted their top-four aspirations, impressive displays from Bowen and Antonio were key to sealing victory.
The former, particularly in the second half, was a menacing threat offensively, a bully for opposition defenders, and once again produced the kind of indefatigable performance that he is commonly known for.
Bowen scored his fourth goal of the season and arguably his best so far. Similar to Antonio, the forward’s willingness to chase lost causes played a key role in West Ham capitalising on their opponents’ errors.
It was Chelsea’s first defeat in the league since losing 1-0 to Manchester City in September but most impressive of all for David Moyes’ side was that they became the first team to score more than one goal against Thomas Tuchel’s team this season.
Since the start of 2021-22, West Ham have sealed impressive wins over Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and now Chelsea. This is how they ended the reigning European champions’ 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
First half
Moyes reverted to a wing-back system following the 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek. This led to Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma dropping to the bench, but with Antonio and Bowen the main attacking outlets against Chelsea, it enabled the duo to play slightly further up the field.
In the first half against Tuchel’s side, Bowen would occasionally play as the lone striker, with Antonio unselfishly dropping back to repel Chelsea’s threat on the counter.
There was a passage of play in the early stages of the game when Bowen broke forward. To his right is a huge space in Chelsea’s defence but Antonio runs towards the left flank, not noticing the gap he could have potentially exploited.
Every so often, Antonio would drift to the left flank. In situations like this, you would prefer your striker to be in the box but it is Antonio who whips in a cross for Tomas Soucek, who narrowly heads wide.
Arthur Masuaku was on post-match interview duty, having scored the winner, but if Antonio had been asked what happened in the build-up to Thiago Silva’s opening goal for Chelsea, he would have been modest enough to admit he was at fault, having momentarily switched off when the visitors sent a corner into the West Ham area.
But what he lost in a brief lapse in concentration, he made up for with his work rate.
Antonio and Bowen frequently pressed Chelsea’s defensive trio of Silva, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger in the hope they would make an error — but they found more joy in targeting Christensen.
In the build-up to West Ham being awarded a penalty, Antonio pressures Christensen into playing a pass to Jorginho. Bowen can see the pass but smartly stays in his position in the central role.
With Declan Rice advancing forward, Jorginho plays it back to goalkeeper Edouard Mendy but Bowen is already in position to pounce on the Chelsea man’s mistake.
The short back-pass falls to Bowen who is then brought down in the area by Mendy, who attempts to pinch the ball away. The average footballer presses in every game but what sets Bowen and Antonio apart from others is their willingness to do it for 90 minutes.
Second half
Mason Mount’s goal just before the break did not hinder West Ham’s belief that they were capable of pulling off a win. In many ways, it fuelled their determination.
After the break, Antonio upped his work rate. He had more success shrugging off defenders and shortly after the interval he held off Silva and looked in search of Bowen.
Bowen made his run too early and was flagged offside when Antonio threaded a forward pass, but it was an encouraging sign that West Ham were finding ways to break down Chelsea’s defence.
It was Antonio who initiated the attack for Bowen’s goal. Lanzini can see Antonio running into space and plays a ball towards the forward.
Antonio challenges Silva for the header on the edge of the box and Vladimir Coufal toe-pokes a pass to Bowen, who rifles his strike into the bottom corner through Christensen’s legs.
It was now the Antonio and Bowen Show, and the latter soon came close to scoring his second goal of the game. Antonio overpowers second-half substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi and an unmarked Bowen is about to run into acres of space.
Antonio flashes a pass across the face of goal but an outstretched Bowen can only put it wide as he lunges for the ball.
In the build-up to Masuaku’s winner, Antonio once again pressed Christensen. Fornals plays a first-time ball to the striker, with the Chelsea defender puts it out for a throw-in.
Antonio signals to Masuaku to play a quick throw-in and there is good reason for this.
When Antonio heads it back to the full-back, Masuaku is allowed time and space due to Chelsea not having enough players back to repel the threat on goal.
Masuaku slices the ball into the top corner at Mendy’s near post, with Antonio the provider, registering his fourth assist of the season in the league.
Shortly after, Masuaku is embraced by Antonio and his team-mates.
It has been a challenging few weeks for Bowen and Antonio but against Chelsea, they served a reminder that they still have crucial roles to play in West Ham’s pursuit of a top-four finish.
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