Chelsea in the “Top 4” After a Thrilling Derby Against West Ham
Chelsea climbed to fourth place in the English Premier League standings after securing a London derby victory over their neighbors and visitors, West Ham, with a 2-1 win in the final match of the 24th round.
Coach Enzo Maresca’s team took full advantage of Manchester City’s heavy 5-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday and Newcastle’s 2-1 home loss to Fulham on Saturday to move up to fourth place with 43 points. Meanwhile, West Ham remained stuck at 27 points in 15th place.
Chelsea found themselves trailing before halftime after Jarrod Bowen capitalized on a defensive mistake by Levi Colwill to open the scoring (42’).
The score remained unchanged until the 64th minute, when Portuguese substitute Pedro Neto equalized with a tight-angle shot following an effort by his Argentine teammate Enzo Fernández, which was cleared off the line before fully crossing (64’).
Chelsea didn’t take long to secure the lead. The ball reached their star player, Cole Palmer, on the left side of the penalty area, where he struck it powerfully. The shot took a deflection off Aaron Wan-Bissaka, deceiving goalkeeper Alphonse Areola (74’). As a result, West Ham remained winless in their last five matches, with only one victory, one draw, and three defeats (including an FA Cup loss) under coach Graham Potter, who replaced Spaniard Julen Lopetegui after the latter was dismissed in early January following just 22 matches in charge.
“Blues” Stars Departing
With the winter transfer window closing, Chelsea offloaded several players, including Portuguese forward João Félix, who joined AC Milan on loan until the end of the season.
Milan will cover the full salary of the 25-year-old, in addition to paying a €5.5 million loan fee. Initially, Milan had refused to offer any financial compensation, requesting Chelsea to contribute to covering his wages during the loan spell, but the “Blues” rejected the proposal.
Aston Villa was also interested in acquiring Félix, with Spanish coach Unai Emery keen on signing him in the summer.
João Félix became Milan’s third winter signing after right-back Kyle Walker, who joined on loan from Manchester City, and Mexican forward Santiago Giménez from Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Félix played 20 matches for Chelsea this season across all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing two assists. However, he struggled to secure playing time in the Premier League, featuring in just 12 matches.
Additionally, Chelsea announced the loan transfer of full-back Ben Chilwell to Crystal Palace until the end of the current season.
Palace confirmed the signing in an official statement, stating that the England international would remain with the club until June.
This move comes nearly four and a half years after Chilwell’s transfer to Chelsea from Leicester City in the summer of 2020.
The left-back made 107 appearances for Chelsea, winning both the Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup during his tenure.
However, Chilwell fell out of favor under Chelsea’s current coach, featuring for only 45 minutes in a single EFL Cup match this season.
At the same time, Chelsea made a late move in the transfer window by securing a deal for French youth international midfielder Mathys Amougou (19) from Saint-Étienne for over £10 million.
