Diego Costa stole the headlines with a dramatic 89th-minute winner to give Chelsea a 2-1 victory over West Ham United in Antonio Conte’s first Premier League game as manager, Monday night.
It was a positive start for new manager Conte, who handed a full debut to former Leicester City man N’Golo Kante in what was the only change to the Chelsea lineup that drew 2-2 with Swansea in the opening game of last season where they finished 10th.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic fielded two debutants in Andre Ayew and left-back Arthur Masuaku, although the former was forced off in the first-half after injuring himself chasing down Eden Hazard.
After a feisty opening period characterized by misplaced passes and full-blooded tackles, Branislav Ivanovic drew a save from Adrian at his near post after cutting in from the right, before Eden Hazard curled a shot a foot wide following a probing run.
Willian, the shining light in Chelsea’s forgettable campaign last term, obliged Adrian to save a dipping free-kick over the bar as the hosts began to dominate proceedings.
West Ham’s resistance was broken at the restart after Michail Antonio bundled Cesar Azpilicueta to the floor having lost the ball to the Chelsea full-back, leaving referee Anthony Taylor with no choice but to point to the spot.
Hazard, a thorn on West ham’s side all night, thundered the penalty into the roof of the net to give the Blues a deserved lead.
With West Ham offering little in an attacking sense, Chelsea went in search of an insurance goal as Willian forced Adrian into a low save while John Terry headed over the bar from a corner-kick.
It was all square on the 77th minute as centre-back James Collins drove a left-foot shot past Thibaut Courtois after Chelsea failed to clear a corner.
But Costa had the last word, collecting substitute Michy Batshuayi’s flick to steer a dramatic winner into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards, thus sending Stamford Bridge into raptures.
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