Hard game, tough boys

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca hailed his sidersquos mental strength as they came from behind to beat West Ham 21 and move into fourth place in the Premier League on MondayMarescarsquos side trailed to Jarrod Bowenrsquos strike late in the first half at Stamford Bridge sparking jeers from frustrated fans after a lethargic start But Marescarsquos decision to send on Pedro Neto in the second half proved decisive as the Portugal forward bagged Chelsearsquos equaliserEnzo MarescaAs he has been so often over the last two seasons Cole Palmer was the catalyst for the Bluesrsquo 74thminute winner when his cross deflected in off West Ham defender Aaron WanBissakaChelsea back on trackAfter a disappointing run of one win in seven league games Maresca was relieved to see Chelsea get back on track in spirited fashionldquoIt is huge Today was a tough game especially mentally When West Ham come here and sit back with 10 players behind the ball itrsquos not easy You have to be mentally strong and you need to be patient Playing this kind of game in February where we are still there in the title race is an important statementrdquo he saidldquoWe had more than 10 shots in the first half We had clear chances in the first half but unfortunately we missed With some changes the game changed Overall we completely deserved to winrdquo he addedMaresca had dropped goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after his costly error in the defeat at Manchester City Sanchezrsquos replacement Filip Jorgensen delivered a solid display about which Maresca said ldquoIn this moment Robert needs rest and Filip was very goodrdquoA return to forget for PotterIt was a frustrating return to the Bridge for West Ham boss Graham Potter who was sacked in 2023 after less than seven months leading ChelseaAlmost two years after his ruthless dismissal Potter returned to management with the Hammers last month but he has mustered just one win from his first five gamesldquoWe gave everything It was relatively even in terms of chances We come away with nothing in terms of the result but there was lots to be positive aboutrdquo Potter saidldquoYou look at the second half The first goal was a bit of a turning point and we felt it was a foul you need those things to go your wayrdquo he addedControversial callPotter was frustrated that a potential Levi Colwill foul on Bowen was not given in the buildup to Chelsearsquos equaliserBut with West Ham sitting 10 points clear of the relegation zone the former Brighton boss has breathing space to reshape the team in his styleldquoThe shape of the team was really good You need a bit of luck We felt unfortunate with the leadup to the first goal but it wasnrsquot to berdquo Potter saidldquoThe understanding of what we want to do is there so we have to build on thatrdquo he addedChelsearsquos next EPL fixture is against Brighton on February 15 while West Ham face Brentford on the same dayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever