Marko Arnautovic Goal Powers West Ham United to Stunning Win vs. Chelsea

Marko Arnautovic scored his first West Ham United goal to help the relegation-threatened Hammers beat champions Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League at the London Stadium on Saturday.

West Ham remained in the bottom three but pulled level on points with 17th-placed West Bromwich Albion. It was their first win with David Moyes in charge. Meanwhile, Chelsea's hopes of retaining the title look slim, with leaders Manchester City having the chance to go 14 points clear if they win on Sunday.

Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard revealed the lineups prior to kick-off:

West Ham were in front on six minutes after Arnautovic combined brilliantly with Manuel Lanzini. The goalscorer drifted off the left flank and belted the ball past Thibaut Courtois to cap a smart one-two.

Goal's Nizaar Kinsella offered a damning assessment of Chelsea's attempts to prevent the early breakthrough:

The Blues' first decent chances came on 27 minutes, when N'Golo Kante, then Davide Zappacosta forced Adrian into saves. Reducing the visitors to shots from the edge of the box was a credit to the Hammers' defensive organisation and rigid shape, which denied space between the lines.

At the other end, Michail Antonio worked tirelessly as a target man. His pace and power made him a natural outlet on the break, while the 27-year-old also pressed Chelsea's three central defenders out of possession, preventing the Blues from playing out from the back.

West Ham stayed direct after the break and felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Andreas Christensen stopped the ball with his hand as Arnautovic was breaking through. Referee Anthony Taylor was unmoved by the protests.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte made a trio of changes in the 20 minutes after the break, swapping Tiemoue Bakayoko for Pedro, Marcos Alonso for Victor Moses and Zappacosta for Willian. Yet the away side still lacked ideas for how to break West Ham's discipline and resolve.

ESPN FC's Liam Twomey described how the Hammers' strategy was working:

It didn't help that Chelsea's players were misfiring when opportunities came their way, with both Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard wasting promising chances inside the final 10 minutes.

West Ham held on for a creditable three points. They pressed and stayed physical all game, never letting Chelsea get comfortable.

The Blues were left to hope Manchester United do them a favour in Sunday's derby, but Conte probably knows the title is already gone.