West Ham vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

West Ham United beat Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday to continue their fantastic start to the 2015-16 Premier League season and heap even more pressure on Blues manager Jose Mourinho. In a match filled with controversy, the hosts found a late breakthrough thanks to Andy Carroll.

Mauro Zarate opened the scoring after 17 minutes, taking advantage of some sloppy Blues defending. A number of controversial incidents at the end of the first half saw Nemanja Matic get sent off, two Chelsea goals disallowed and Mourinho end up in the stands, but the Blues fought back and equalised through Gary Cahill early in the second half.

West Ham pushed for a late winner and got just that when Carroll powered home a header. Mourinho and the Blues will surely have a thing or two to say about the officiating in this match, as the result could have been very different had the calls gone their way.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Chelsea went with the same team that played out a scoreless draw in the UEFA Champions League against Dynamo Kyiv, meaning Eden Hazard retained his spot out wide. Zarate replaced Victor Moses for the Hammers, with the latter not going up against his parent club.

The match started at a slow pace, with Chelsea trying to settle in and West Ham unable to work the ball into promising territory. Dimitri Payet was the hosts' main danger man, but the Blues did a good job containing him in midfield rather than letting him advance with the ball.

Diego Costa seemed to be enjoying himself, using his physicality and strong play in the box to frustrate the West Ham defenders. He struggled on the ball, however, with a couple of bad touches and one particularly poor miss from a good position.

ESPN FC's Iain Macintosh wasn't impressed:

Asmir Begovic produced a fine save to keep a Payet free-kick from dipping under the crossbar, and West Ham started to push for an opener. The resulting corner bounced straight into Zarate's feet, and he didn't miss, blasting a volley from close range.

While it was an excellent strike, Chelsea's defenders were nowhere to be seen. John Terry tried to get in the way at the last minute, but the ball should have never reached Zarate to begin with.

Per Ladbrokes, the home fans used the opportunity to taunt Mourinho:

"

West Ham take the lead through Zarate's strike and the Hammers find their voices with "you're getting sacked in the morning"... #WHUCHE

— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) October 24, 2015"

Rather than aggressively chase an equaliser, Chelsea decided to answer with patience, taking control of possession and working the ball around. Hazard started dropping back deeper in an effort to get more involved, and while it didn't immediately lead to danger, the Blues looked much better with the ball at their feet.

Willian came close with a superb dipping free-kick, but Adrian got down in a timely fashion and was able to stop the ball. Kurt Zouma nearly forced Manuel Lanzini into an own goal, but the young forward was able to clear the ball off the line in the nick of time.

Chelsea were furious, as the ball appeared to cross the line in its entirety. But goal-line technology showed the Argentinian smashed the ball away from danger while it was still touching the line.

Bleacher Report's Garry Hayes thought the technology showed its value:

Lanzini's clearance was only the start of the controversy, however. Minutes after Lanzini should have made it 2-0 when he dribbled past Begovic but lobbed the ball over the goal, Cesc Fabregas was sure he had equalised on a quick four-on-three counter. To the dismay of Chelsea fans, however, the assistant raised his flag.

Replays showed the Spaniard was maybe inches beyond the last man, and at the very least, there was room for discussion.

Chelsea's official Twitter account certainly didn't accept the decision:

Things got even worse minutes later. Matic, already on a yellow card, charged into Diafra Sakho and was sent off after some discussion between the official and his assistant.

The Chelsea bench almost exploded, and the players hounded official Jonathan Moss. Fabregas and Terry were both handed yellow cards in the aftermath, and Mourinho was sent to the stands.

Former England international Gary Lineker was already looking forward to the post-match interview:

Fabregas stayed in the dressing room to start the second half, with John Obi Mikel coming on to fortify the midfield areas. Despite being a man down, Chelsea again took control of the ball, while West Ham were happy to sit back and aim for the counterattack.

Cesar Azpilicueta went down in a heap and claimed Zarate had struck him during an aerial duel, but the official decided against punishing the scorer. Replays showed the Spaniard made the most of a minimal touch.

It took the Blues 56 minutes to win their first corner, but when they did, they immediately drew level. Cahill reacted quickly to push the ball past the onrushing Adrian and over the line.

Bleacher Report UK couldn't help itself:

The goal meant West Ham had to come forward again in search of the three points, but Chelsea proved a resilient bunch, giving up little space in defence. The Hammers introduced Carroll with 20 minutes left to play with the intention of breaking down the Blues back line by force.

West Ham started bombarding the box with crosses, and in the 79th minute, one of them reached the massive former Liverpool man, who towered over Azpilicueta and converted from close range.

Per OptaJoe, the fact he scored with his head wasn't a huge surprise:

The goal was perhaps a little harsh on the Blues, who did very well to fight back and grab the equaliser with just 10 men. But following Carroll's late goal, Chelsea simply didn't have any energy left to force a final offensive, and instead, West Ham pressed high up the pitch to ensure the Blues never came close to another equaliser.

The controversial match will give Mourinho plenty of ammunition in the coming days, both when talking to the media and his own players. He'll need to use every bit of motivation he can find to prepare his players for a visit from Liverpool, who are still riding a high after appointing Jurgen Klopp as new manager.

West Ham's superb start to the season continues, and a meeting with Watford in Week 11 should result in another three points. 

Post-Match Reaction

As shared by football commentator Ian Abrahams, Mourinho and his staff refused to talk to the media after the match:

Hammers manager Slaven Bilic felt for his colleague, via the Independent's Miguel Delaney:

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