Angered by VAR, West Ham shocks Chelsea to revive survival hopes

Wednesday's eventful London derby had everything it needed to be called a "thriller." In the end, West Ham United defeated Chelsea 3-2 in London Stadium. As a result, the hosts revived their chances of avoiding relegation.

Willian scored the first goal for his team from a penalty to put the Blues ahead. But their lead was short-lived.

The West Ham brigade was infuriated in the first-half when Tomas Soucek's goal was ruled out by VAR review because Michail Antonio was caught offside and he was in Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga's line of vision. But he did score later, moments before half-time, and equalised the scoreboard from a header.

It was Michail Antonio's strike in the 51st minute that helped West Ham take lead for the first time in the game. This time, Willian scored the equaliser for Chelsea as he netted his second of the match in the 72nd minute through a spectacular free-kick.

Just when the match was approaching a draw, substitute Andriy Yarmolenko scored the decisive goal when he finished off a superb counter-attack with a brilliant left-foot finish off Antonio's set-up. Yarmolenko's last-minute cameo provided a massive morale boost for David Moyes' team. They are now three points clear of the relegation spots. Antonio was declared man of the match.

Moyes wanted a big performance from his team to turn around their fortunes this season. They have been fighting an intense battle to avoid relegation. Just when he wished for magic, it was Antonio who turned up during the hour of need. His determination was visible throughout the match and he absorbed pressure quite impressively, in turn producing a high-quality performance.

BBC quoted Moyes saying, "We need him (Antonio) so much. He led the line really well. You have to win a game people have not been expecting. I think it was a shock after we saw the performance of Chelsea at Manchester City. Chelsea played a lot of good football. We've done well but our football has to get better."

Not only did West Ham's win help them steer clear of the danger zone, but it also added advantage to Manchester United's race for a spot in the UEFA Champions League. Their win against Brighton, coupled with third-placed Leicester City's loss to Everton, has made things favourable for the Red Devils.

Now that Chelsea and Man United are competing for a Champions League place, it will be interesting to see which of these arch-rivals will end their Premier League campaign in the top-four.