West Ham United put a fresh dent in Chelsea’s fading hopes of retaining the English title on Saturday when they beat the Premier League champions 1-0, thanks to a first goal for Marko Arnautovic since he joined West Ham in July.
Arnautovic swapped passes with Manuel Lanzini on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area and curled a low shot beyond Thibaut Courtois in the sixth minute of the London derby at West Ham’s London Stadium.
Chelsea struggled to break down a West Ham defence that looks much sturdier under new manager David Moyes, and the visitors were vulnerable on the break to the power of Arnautovic and Michail Antonio playing as a striker.
The result left Chelsea 11 points behind runaway league leaders Manchester City and three behind second-placed Manchester United ahead of Sunday’s derby between the two Manchester clubs.
