Chelsea 2-1 West Ham: Blues into Premier League's top four after comeback win | OneFootball

Blues claim back-to-back home wins as Graham Potter denied on Stamford Bridge return

Chelsea climbed back into the Premier League's top four after they came from behind to beat West Ham 2-1 and ruin Graham Potter's return to Stamford Bridge.

Jarrod Bowen's goal late in the first half had installed that hope, though it owed to a horror moment from Levi Colwill who had surrendered the ball to his England teammate.

The sound of a restless home support in this ground was a familiar one to Potter, but those audible frustrations were extinguished when Pedro Neto side-footed the equaliser in the 64th minute before Cole Palmer's strike deflected horribly off Wan-Bissaka to win it for Enzo Maresca's side.

It was just a second win in eight in the league for the hosts, whose Champions League challenge looks tentatively back on track following Arsenal's pummelling of Manchester City, who dropped to fifth.

Noni Madueke was Chelsea's liveliest threat in the first half. He had their first chance after 15 minutes, sweeping a shot across the face of goal and wide after cruising into the box off the right wing. He would later show his eye for a cunning pass to tee up Enzo Fernandez who crashed through a gap in West Ham's defence and shot beyond the post.

Filip Jorgensen was handed just his second league start in goal over the error-prone Robert Sanchez with whom Maresca appeared finally to have lost patience, the stand-in steadying any early nerves when he shovelled behind Bowen's near-post drive.

When Palmer fired wildly over the bar after 23 minutes, it summed up an opening quarter that had been short of attacking quality.

The game needed a flash of skill to crack it open but what it got was a moment of self-sabotage from Chelsea.

Colwill, facing his own goal, was under pressure from Mohammed Kudus near the touchline but it should not have prompted such a hideous lapse in focus from the defender. Seeking to offload the ball infield to Moises Caicedo he found only the wily, lurking Bowen, who with an opportunistic dart latched onto the loose pass and curled low beyond Jorgensen for 1-0.

Palmer made an audacious late pitch to level things before the break, his free-kick was somehow diverted from its goalward path by an outrageous reach from Alphonse Areola.

Chelsea equalised midway through the second half and the move was finished as it started, by the left boot of Neto. It was his cross to the far post that Marc Cucurella pinged back centrally to where Fernandez was waiting to shoot at goal. His effort rebounded away off Vladimir Coufal to Neto who did not hesitate in returning it firmly inside Areola's near post to level things.

Kudus battered the post with a header as the visitors almost went back in front within a minute.

Chelsea's goal to win it 15 minutes from time was fortunate - it is doubtful that Palmer's drive would have sailed as it did over Areola but for a huge deflection off Wan-Bissaka.

Just as valuable was a block deep in added time by Tosin Adarabioyo to deny Kudus from close range, as Maresca's side clung on.