Chelsea v West Ham live: Chelsea 2 West Ham 1 – Diego Costa’s late strike gives Chelsea the edge at Stamford Bridge
Follow all the action from the London derby as Slaven Bilic hopes to continue from fine first season in England
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- Chelsea 2-1 West Ham: Match report
- Antonio Conte takes charge of his first match in the Premier League
- Chelsea hoping to forget last season's nightmare campaign with a strong start
- West Ham travels across London for derby with rivals
- Refresh browser for live updates
21.58: So that's all from me this evening. We'll be back on - get this - Friday night! Yes, it's the first of the new Friday night Premier League fixtures this week as Manchester United take on Southampton at Old Trafford and we'll be bringing you live coverage from 7pm. Join us then and enjoy the rest of your evening. Goodbye!
21.53: So while it looked like West Ham might have stolen a point at Stamford Bridge that late goal from Diego Costa gave them the win that they deserved. They were the better side by far, especially in the first half, and while it wasn't perfect there's more than enough to suggest that Chelsea might be getting back in the swing of things this year. The big question, as Slaven Bilic will doubtless point out, is whether he should still have been on the pitch to score it? To which the correct answer is no, he shouldn't.
21.52: FT: CHELSEA 2 WEST HAM 1
21.51: ALL OVER! CHELSEA WIN AND ANTONIO CONTE'S REIGN IS OFF AND RUNNING!
21.49: BOOKING! Yep, fair enough. Pedro flies in on Winston Reid and that's a yellow card, even in Anthony Taylor's book of leniency.
21.47: James Collins fails to close down DIEGO COSTA about 20 yards out and the Chelsea striker drives it through his legs and into the far corner beyond Adrian! Meanwhile, Antonio Conte is hugging everyone in the crowd. CHELSEA 2 WEST HAM 1
21.46: GOOOOAAAAAALLLL!!!
21.44: So so close for Chelsea as Pedro nearly picks out a flying Diego Costa in the six-yard box. All it needs is the slightest of touches but it misses Costa's boot by inches and West Ham survive.
21.41: Get a grip ref! Now N'Golo Kante clatters Dmitri Payet badly and somehow avoids a second yellow card too. Grow a pair! Meanwhile, Batshuayi comes on for Oscar and Moses is on for Hazard. Strange one that. Oh well.
21.39: The Ginger Pele comes up trumps...
21.36: Well that was always going to happen, wasn't it? As long as Chelsea only had the one goal lead there was always a chance that the Hammers might pinch one back. Meanwhile, Willian makes way for Pedro.
21.34: West Ham are level! And it's JAMES COLLINS who gets it! He's up for a corner and while he misses his first header, the ball drops for him again and he leathers a half-volley home into the corner. What a finish! CHELSEA 1 WEST HAM 1
21.33: GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!!
21.29: 'You've already been booked? Oh, forget it then...'
21.27: Chelsea are playing some lovely stuff now and it's hardly surprising that Mark Noble resorts to chopping down Oscar about 25 yards out. It's a great position but it's straight into the wall from Willian.
21.24: Diego Costa is a lucky lad. He slides in on Adrian as he goes to clear the ball but sends him flying instead. He's on a yellow already but somehow doesn't see his second. Another referee bottling it I'm afraid. That was a clear yellow.
21.23: And we're about to see Dmitri Payet. He's stripped and 'adjusting' himself as all footballers seem to do when they're waiting to come on. It's Havard Nordtveit that'll be making way.
21.20: From the resulting corner, it's John Terry who leaps like a central defensive salmon but his header is just over. Rolling back the years there JT...
21.18: Fine save from Adrian as he stretches out his right hand to stop Willian's cross shot from sneaking in the far corner. There's only one winner in this game at the moment.
21.15: Eden Hazard - he's in there somewhere...
21.13: West Ham have surely got to bring Dmitri Payet on ASAP, haven't they? They've created nothing in this game and they badly need a little bit of quality.
21.09: SUBSTITUTION! Slaven Bilic has decided that after picking up a booking when he conceded that penalty it's best if Michail Antonio takes a rest. On comes Sam Byram in his place.
21.07: That goal was no more than Chelsea deserved and no more than Eden Hazard deserved too. He's been the best player on the pitch tonight.
21.03: PENALTY IN THE FIRST MINUTE!!! Michail Antonio trips Cesar Azpilicueta and it's a spot-kick. Who's having it? It's Eden Hazard... GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!! The Belgian blasts it into the roof of the net and Chelsea have a deserved lead! CHELSEA 1 WEST HAM 0
21.01: The players are back out at Stamford Bridge and we're almost ready to go again. Just waiting for Tony Taylor to blow his whistle and we'll be off. There it is! PEEEEEEEP!
20.58: Impressive...
20.54: The Joachim Low Phenomenon continues to spread...
20.47: HT: CHELSEA 0 WEST HAM 0
20.46: Winston Reid dumps Diego Costa on his generous rump and it'll be Willian with a free-kick from 28 yards out. This is made for him. Great effort but tipped over by Adrian. And that'll be half-time!
20.43: Goodbayew...
20.42: Four minutes to the break. Here's hoping West Ham remember what they are actually here for in the second half. They've been very disappointing.
20.36: The bearded behemoth that is Diego Costa works himself a shooting opportunity around 20 yards out on the Chelsea left but it's a yard over the top. Tidy effort. Unlike his beard.
20.31: The closest yet to a goal as Eden Hazard embarks on one of those trademark runs down the left wing before attempting to bend one in the far corner. It's millimetres wide. In other news, Andre Ayew is down and it's not looking good. The Hammers man pulled up when trying to chase Hazard, clutching his thigh, and that will be the end of his night. Who's coming on? It's former Chelsea youth player, Gokhan Tore.
20.30: Socks over the knees? At your age? Grow up...
20.25: I think I'm right in saying that Diego Costa is the first player to be booked under the new laws on dissent. That wouldn't have been worth a bet at the beginning of the season though, would it?
20.21: BOOKING! Very soft booking for James Collins there as he nobbles Diego Costa in the Chelsea half. The Spanish international was going nowhere (same old, same old then) and still the Hammers centre-half waded in. Pointless.
20.18: PENALTY? Oscar robs Mark Noble 25 yards out, drives past Winston Reid but the Hammers defender seems to being him down. Looked like a penalty to me but Anthony Taylor says nope. In the kerfuffle that ensues Diego Costa offers his strong opinion of the incident to the ref and gets a booking for his troubles.
20.16: OI KANTE! NO!
20.13: Moments later it's former great Eden Hazard who lets fly on the half-volley from 20 yards but it's always on the up and probably knocks a scolding hot cup of coffee out of the hands of a pensioner in the stand behind the goal.
20.12: It's been a lively first 10 minutes, even if there's been no clear cut opportunities. Plenty of tasty tackles flying in, just what you'd expect from a London derby. Hang on... Ivanovic! Oooh! It's a decent effort as he cuts back on the right and nearly beats Adrian at his near post but the Hammers keeper is equal to the task.
20.09: On the subject of England, it's nice to hear the Hammers contingent lambasting Gary Cahill with a chorus of 'You let your country down!' Well deserved I'd say.
20.08: Both Carroll and his skipper Mark Noble will be glad to know that England boss Sam Allardyce is here tonight. And Roy Hodgson isn't. Big chance for them you'd think.
20.06: From the early evidence it seems Bratislava Ivanovic is going to be picking up Andy Carroll at set pieces. That's not going to end well, is it?
20.03: BOOKING! It's not even three minutes into N'Golo Kante's Chelsea career and he's picked up a yellow card for hacking down Andy Carroll as the big man threatened to break away. It was a poor challenge to be fair.
20.00: So all the niceties are out of the way, thankfully. Let's make this a proper London derby chaps, eh? Get stuck in. Tony Taylor blows his whistle and WE ARE OFF AND RUNNING! Or, in the case, of Diego Costa, just OFF...
19.57: There's a very modern, continental style greeting between Conte and Bilic there. Plenty of kisses being exchanged. Imagine Tony Pulis and Mark Hughes doing that? No, me neither.
19.55: So a quick look up and the players have assembled in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge. And there's John Terry, still leading Chelsea out, aged 86. What a guy. Here's Tony Taylor and almost ready to go. Let's 'ave it then...
19.52: Bank on the Hammers scoring tonight. Why? Because they've scored at least one goal in each of their last 13 league matches, that's why.
19.50: Ten minutes to kick off at Stamford Bridge. Got everything you need? Snacks? Drinks? Company?
19.43: COR BLIMEY GUV'NOR! West Ham finished higher than Chelsea last season for the first time in 20 years!
19.38: Your referee for this evening's game is Anthony 'Don't Call Me Tony!' Taylor. He's the one that looks like every other balding ref in the game. Yes, him...
19.36: Ever get the feeling that there's somebody in the hallway that shouldn't be there?
19.33: Mind you, Chelsea are, officially, the best starters in Premier League, or 'Premiership' as Slaven Bilic has just called it (tut, tut), history. They've amassed a tidy 51 points from their opening Premier League games and that's more than any other team.
19.28: So who's your money on? Can we expect Chelsea under Conte to turn into the most efficient defensive machine in the top flight? Or will the Hammers, fresh from their best season in donkey's ears (years) spoilt the Italian's first league game in charge? My bet? West Ham to sneak it. Get on it. The odds are huge.
19.25: FACT ME! Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League home games against the Hammers (W7, D3).
19.22: On the face of it the Chelsea side looks very familiar but look closer! There's no Cesc Fabregas. That's a big call from Conte. But just look at the gaffer's face. Do you think he's bothered what me, you or anyone else thinks? Really?
19.20: Got to love a sprinkler...
19.14: As for the happy Hammers, they give starts to all three of their recent signings, Arthur Masuaku, Havard Nordtveit and Andre Ayew. There's no place for Geoff Pike though. WEST HAM: Adrian, Antonio, Reid, Collins, Masuaku, Nordtveit, Ayew, Noble, Kouyate, Valencia, Carroll
19.12: Antonio Conte gives a debut to new recruit N'Golo Kante but the other newbie, Michy Batshuayi will be warming the bench tonight. Wearily familiar line-up though, isn't it? CHELSEA: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, JT (c), Azpilicueta; Kante; Willian, Matic, Oscar, Hazard; Costa
19.11: Shall we take a look at the teams? Oh, go on then...
19.00: Hello and welcome to live coverage of Chelsea vs West Ham. It's a massive night for Antonio Conte as he takes charge of his first Premier League game, against one of the Blues' biggest rivals. Slaven Bilic's Hammers - who have now moved into the Olympic Stadium - travel across London to open a campaign that has fans in the East End dreaming of becoming one of the big boys.