LONDON: Substitute Andriy Yarmolenko’s late strike earned West Ham United a precious 3-2 victory over Chelsea in a topsy-turvy Premier League derby last night.
Yarmolenko raced clear in the 89th-minute to plant a shot past Kepa Arrizabalaga and clinch three vital points in West Ham’s battle to avoid relegation.
Willian had put Chelsea in front in the 41st-minute from the penalty spot but Tomas Soucek, who had already had a goal ruled out by VAR, headed the hosts level on the stroke of halftime.
Michail Antonio then turned in Jarrod Bowen’s cross shortly after the break to give the hosts the lead.
Willian’s majestic 72nd-minute free kick which beat Lukasz Fabianski and crashed in off the post set up a frenetic finale.
With Chelsea seeking a winner they were caught on the break and Yarmolenko kept his cool to earn West Ham a league double over Frank Lampard’s side who wasted the chance to move into third spot in their chase for a Champions League place.
West Ham moved up to 16th spot, three points above the relegation zone.
Earlier, a terrible error from goalkeeper Tim Krul gifted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang his 50th Premier League goal as Arsenal thumped Norwich City 4-0 at the Emirates, pushing the Canaries ever closer to relegation.
Krul foolishly attempted to fake a long kick and dribble past the Gabon striker in the 33rd minute, but he nicked the ball off the keeper’s foot and rolled it into the net to reach a half-century of goals in the English top flight.
The Gunners scored a brilliant second four minutes later through Granit Xhaka, and though Norwich started the second half brightly, Aubameyang killed the game off with his second goal in the 67th minute.
Third-placed Leicester City’s winless run since the restart of the season continued with a 2-1 defeat by Everton at Goodison Park.
Leicester stayed on 55 points while Everton moved up to 11th on 44 points.
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