West Ham United have progressed to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup following their 2-1 victory over London rivals Chelsea at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night.
In the opening exchanges, the Blues started off the brighter side but it were the Hammers who broke the deadlock in the 11th minute when Mark Noble’s corner found Cheikhou Kouyate, who headed it home for 1-0.
A few minutes later the Hammers were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty when Aaron Cresswell set up Dimitri Payet, who’s leg was caught before getting his shot away but the referee waved play on.
However, at the other end, the Blues forced West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph into making a crucial save to deny Nathaniel Chalobah, who fired a shot from the edge of the box.
West Ham had an opportunity to double their lead when Michail Antonio drove in behind the Blues defence, before pulling the ball back for Manuel Lanzini but his shot was wide of the post.
However, Chelsea should have levelled matters on the stroke of half-time from a quick counter-attack which saw Oscar play Michy Batshuayi through on goal, but he fired well over the bar.
Slaven Bilic’s side came out guns blazing in the second half when Edimilson Fernandes made it 2-0 to West Ham, with the winger cutting inside and firing a low finish past Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
The hosts were not slacking down after a two-goal lead and Payet broke away to find Antonio, who set up Noble but his effort went just past the far post.
The Blues came close to pulling a goal back in the 81st minute when Diego Costa set up Eden Hazard, but he only managed to rattle the bar.
However, the away side eventually bagged a goal in stoppage time when defender Gary Cahill slotted the ball into the back of the net, but it was too late to deny the Hammers. They won the match 2-1 and booked their spot in the next round of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Southampton secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Sunderland courtesy of Sofiane Boufal, who scored a stunning 25-yard strike into the top corner to secure his team a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament at St Mary’s Stadium.
