Chelsea Fall 2 Points Behind Liverpool in EPL Table After Draw vs. West Ham

Chelsea dropped points for the first time this season on Sunday, drawing 0-0 against West Ham United at London Stadium to leave them two points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool. 

The Hammers held their London rivals to a stalemate, as Chelsea came up short and failed to score for the first time this season, while the hosts continued their rebuilding project.

After losing their first three matches of the season, Manuel Pellegrini's side have now lost only once in their past three games, while Chelsea lost pace in the title race for the first time this term.

Sarri's Chelsea Have Passing Perfection but Lack Penetration

The area of Chelsea's squad that was most drastically transformed in the short transfer window that Maurizio Sarri had at the helm was his midfield, with pass-masters Jorginho and the on-loan Mateo Kovacic brought in.

Both players are fine additions, but what seemed apparent on Sunday was that the two are perhaps too good at their jobs, and their jobs seem similar. Chelsea reporter Garry Hayes helped summarise the lack of penetration Chelsea were having in the final third:

Going in scoreless at half-time on Sunday, Chelsea had more than two-thirds of the possession and a pass success rate of just under 90 per cent, per WhoScored.com. But their front three of Olivier Giroud, Eden Hazard and Willian were responsible for only four of those.

Sports writer Dan Levene bemoaned a familiar surplus in possession without any incision from the Blues, with West Ham happy to stock up in the channels and wait for their chance to break:

Too often Kovacic and Jorginho were pulling the same strings from deep in midfield.

N'Golo Kante is capable of providing some attacking impetus, but it's not the France international's forte, and others agreed on the apparent disconnect between the midfield three and the forward line:

Having two elite players like Jorginho and Kovacic is a fine thing, but style can influence a game as much as personnel, and it's possible the more physically imposing Ross Barkley could have lent a hand earlier on.

So-called Sarri-ball is a beautiful thing to watch in full flow, but not for the first time this season, we saw on Sunday a lack of clear alternatives when the first tactic fails to hurt the opposition.

West Ham Desperate for Recognised Striker in Arnautovic's Absence

Marko Arnautovic's conversion into a centre-forward has been one of the more pleasant developments at West Ham United in recent times, but the Hammers lack almost any other scoring options.

It was clear on Sunday as stand-in striker Michail Antonio—himself unnatural in the role—missed a handful of big opportunities that could well have snatched an unlikely three points for West Ham.

On a day when the east Londoners' defence held up in admirable fashion, Pellegrini needed his stars performing at the other end without Arnautovic, who was ruled out after a late fitness test:

Andy Gray of beIN Sports predicted prior to kick-off that West Ham would struggle to net without the Austria international:

Summer signing Lucas Perez came on for the final 25 minutes and impressed enough to suggest he perhaps should have started in place of Antonio, who is regarded as more of a jack of all trades.

Goal's Nizaar Kinsella illustrated the point after Antonio had a one-on-one chance with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga following a mistake by David Luiz:

West Ham now have two elite, international-standard wingers in Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko, so there's minimal excuses for not finishing chances.

Yarmolenko has enjoyed scoring highs of his own recently but showed he also has work to do on his finishing after he missed a free header from a superb Robert Snodgrass cross in the 76th minute.

Arnautovic has scored three of West Ham's five league goals this season and was integral in Week 5's 3-1 victory over Everton with his goal and assist. 

Pellegrini will be glad to have any player in his lineup performing with such confidence, but West Ham are so short of other scoring contributors that Arnautovic's form could end up being more of a burden than a blessing.

What's Next?

Attention turns to the Carabao Cup for both teams. Chelsea have a much more difficult task on their hands, as they are away to Liverpool on Wednesday. West Ham welcome Macclesfield Town to London Stadium the same night.