Rafael Benitez went in search of his first win in charge of Chelsea against London rivals West Ham United at Upton Park this afternoon.
As the whistle was blown for half-time, it looked as though he was well on his way to achieving his maiden victory courtesy of an unanswered goal from Juan Mata.
However, after the break the hosting Hammers rallied and bagged three goals to take the points, piling more pressure on Benitez in the process.
You can read how the match unfolded with our minute-by-minute updates below.
Afternoon all. Doesn't Saturday come around quickly?! Another Premier League weekend is upon us! Not a bad way to start it either - a London derby!
Before we get into all the facts and statistics, the teams news from Upton Park has just been released...
West Ham X1: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Reid, Collins, O'Brien; O'Neil, Noble, Tomkins, Jarvis; Nolan; Cole
So, no Andy Carroll for the Hammers today. Not sure whether he is injured or not but will check that out. He will be a miss for the home side. As it is, Carlton Cole will lead the line. Also, Mark Noble has returned to the starting lineup following a one-match suspension.
Chelsea X1: Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Cole; Ramires, Mikel, Moses, Mata, Hazard; Torres
The Brazilian duo of David Luiz and Oscar miss out on places in the Chelsea starting lineup today. England's Gary Cahill has come in for Luiz, while Victor Moses has been given a chance to shine by Benitez.
Right, it's been 20 or so minutes but I cannot avoid mentioning Fernando Torres any longer! The Spaniard has been given another opportunity to rediscover his clinical touch today. Have to say, on the evidence of the last 18 months or so, there's no reason to think he will. Having said that, he's still Chelsea's joint leading goalscorer this season, despite not finding the net since the beginning of October.
Sticking with strikers, just to keep you in the know, Carroll has not been included in the squad. We're led to believe that he is suffering with a knock, having limped off during Wednesday's trip to Manchester United.
Chelsea actually have a very good recent record at Upton Park. They have not been defeated there since the 2002/03 season - a year before Roman Abramovich took control of the club.
It would be fair to say that they're not on the greatest run of form at the moment though. They haven't won from their last five outings in all competitions and that was against Shakhtar Donetsk. The last Premier League success came at Tottenham Hotspur in October.
Let's touch on West Ham's home record a bit more shall we? Out of seven visitors, only Arsenal have left East London with maximum points to show for their efforts. The only other so-called 'big club' they have faced is Manchester City, who were held 0-0.
Here is some of what Wales manager, Chris Coleman, has had to say about the game: "In terms of some of the receptions he has received at Stamford Bridge from Chelsea fans it might be easier today for Rafael Benitez, but West Ham is never an easy place to come.
"West Ham will put them under a lot of pressure, so there might be more pressure on the pitch but less pressure off it."
Coleman is working as a pundit for BBC Sport.
Here's a stat that will not been looked on favourably by Chelsea supporters. Your side has not scored in their last three matches in all competitions. That has never happened before under Abramovich's ownership. Surely that run won't stretch to four, will it?!
I'd go as far as saying that Chelsea HAVE to score today. Failure to win, coupled with the two Manchester clubs winning later, will all but end their title chances. Granted it's only December, but a loss will see them fall a long way behind.
Some bad news for West Ham fans, courtesy of your manager Sam Allardyce who has been talking to Sky Sports News: "Andy Carroll's injury is pretty severe. We didn't expect it to be quite as severe. It's going to be about six to eight weeks. It's a blow for us and Andy. We must soldier on. The lads out there have plenty of experience but we are a bit light on the bench."
Right, the players are on their way out and received a big reception from the crowd. The West Ham fans are really up for this one. Not long until we are off and running now.
West Ham, kicking from right to left, get the match started...
Very little to report on so far apart from the fact that Torres's first touch would have left a Sunday League player disgusted with himself! What has happened to that man?!
Still very little happening at Upton Park. Both teams appear to be hurried in possession and as a result they are giving the ball away cheaply.
GOAL! West Ham 0-1 Chelsea (Mata)
At last Torres has woken up, although he hasn't scored! Victor Moses picks out his great run inside the area. Having got his head up, Torres pulls the ball back for an advancing Juan Mata, who slots the ball into the bottom corner of the net in calm fashion. A really good team goal for Chelsea.
"One Di Matteo" sing the travelling support. It seems that scoring a goal is not enough for Benitez to win over the Chelsea fans!
And now a banner in the Chelsea end that reads "Rafa Out" has been unveiled. They are really not happy about the Spaniard's appointment are they?!
CHANCE! Big opportunity for Chelsea to double their advantage is wasted. Ramires robbed Guy Demel of possession down the left, before picking out Moses inside the area. The Nigerian international rushes his shot though and ends up scuffing the ball wide.
The Hammers have posed very little attacking threat at the moment. A lot of what they are doing at the moment is long ball football and the Chelsea rearguard is coping well.
CHANCE! Oh dear Mr Torres. Chelsea break with Ramires at pace, who gets to the edge of the area. He then gives the ball to Torres, who takes on touch to steady himself. It doesn't work though as his shot goes high, wide and not very handsome. The wait goes on!
Chelsea are keeping the ball extremely well. Whenever they do lose possession, the ball is lumped up to Cole, who can't keep hold of it and Chelsea mount another attack. It's a vicious cycle at the moment.
CHANCE! Eden Hazard goes close for Chelsea with a bending effort. It was a neat touch inside the area that allowed him to make the chance but his accuracy was just a little off.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Kevin Nolan thinks that he has drawn West Ham level with an overhead kick, only for his effort to be ruled out for a foul by James Collins on Branislav Ivanovic in the build-up.
West Ham have just spent the last few moments inside the Chelsea half and even managed to force a corner. It comes to nothing though and the pressure ends.
SAVE! Jussi Jaaskelainen keeps West Ham in the match with a smart stop to deny Mata from close range. The rebound went back to the Chelsea man, but Joey O'Brien slid in to block the shot.
BOOKING! Other referees may have sent Petr Cech off here so the Chelsea keeper is lucky. He comes out to punch a ball that he doesn't need to and actually makes contact with the ball outside of his area. Martin Atkinson has sympathy for him though and issues a yellow.
SAVE! The resultant freekick finds Nolan, who loops a head towards goal. Cech dives to his right though to tip the ball away from danger.
HALF-TIME: West Ham 0-1 Chelsea
Well it hasn't been the greats of matches so far but Chelsea and Benitez won't care one jot. They lead and deservedly so. They have been the better of the two sides and have created a couple of chances to extend their lead further.
It's not been great for West Ham though. All they have done is lofted the ball up to Cole and hope that he could keep hold. He's not done that though and the ball continually comes back towards their goal. If that keeps happening, there is only one winner from this match.
While we wait for the match to resume, here's our half-time report of events from Upton Park.
We're back underway at Upton Park. Chelsea will be kicking towards their own supporters during the second half.
SUBSTITUTION: Allardyce makes a double change to his side at the break as Tomkins and O'Neill are replaced by Diame and Taylor. The manager obviously wasn't happy with what he saw in the first half.
OUCH! Diame's first involvement is to drill in a powerful shot that smashes Cahill directly in the chest. Fair play to the Chelsea defender because he barely moves. It must have hurt though!
It's been a much better start to the second half by West Ham. They are putting Chelsea under pressure but as yet the away side are standing firm.
We've just an injury stoppage while Cahill received some treatment after he was booted in the face by Cole. The Chelsea defender is up now and play has resumed.
Diame has made a real difference for West Ham. Not only is he breaking up Chelsea attacks, but he is also moving forward with the ball in a way that was lacking for the Hammers during the first half.
GOAL! West Ham 1-1 Chelsea (Cole)
It's fortunate for West Ham, but they won't care. Cole climbs all over Ivanovic to get his head to the ball, but the referee does not give a foul and the ball squirms into the net. He's come back to haunt his former club and Benitez does not look happy!
SAVE! Chelsea almost regain the lead immediately but Hazard's low drive is palmed clear by Jaaskelainen. The rebound drops to Torres, but his shot is weak and is easily cleared.
BOOKING! West Ham's Noble gets his name taken for going in late on Ramires. He complains, but I'm not sure why - it was a poorly-timed challenge.
OFF THE POST! So, so close for Chelsea! From Noble's foul Mata bends in a free kick that has Jaaskelainen rooted to the spot. Thankfully for him and West Ham the ball cannons to safety off the upright.
CHANCE! A massive sigh of relief for Jaaskelainen, who gifted the ball straight to Hazard. The Belgian takes an instant shot, but it goes just over the bar from a narrow angle.
SUBSTITUTION: And that was Hazard's last involvement. He has been replaced by Brazilian playmaker Oscar.
It's real end-to-end stuff at the moment. Neither side are creating many chances, but it's frantic! There's certainly at least one more goal left in this.
SUBSTITUTION: Another switch for Chelsea as Moses takes his leave and is replaced by Marko Marin.
SAVE! A vital stop from Cech as Jarvis raced through unopposed. It was a good shot from Jarvis, but one that you would expect Cech to make.
OFF THE LINE! Great defending from Ashley Cole, who got back to head clear a certain goal for West Ham defender Winston Reid. Cole has been brilliant at reading situations like that throughout his career.
GOAL! West Ham 2-1 Chelsea (Diame)
Upton Park erupts! What a strike from Diame. Cole did well to hold the ball, before cutting the ball back to the midfielder. He took an instant strike that he kept low, giving Cech no chance.
SUBSTITUTION: Goalscorer Cole is given a breather by Allardyce as Maiga comes on his place.
"You're getting sacked in the morning," sing the West Ham fans to Benitez. Don't laugh, with Abramovich's track record it could happen!!
Chelsea have four minutes of stoppage time to salvage something from this game...
GOAL! West Ham 3-1 Chelsea (Maiga)
Game, set and match West Ham! Ashley Cole is at fault, giving the ball straight to Maiga. He in turn finds Taylor, who sees his low shot pushed clear by Cech. The ball rebounds to substitute Maiga though and he rifles a shot into the net.
FULL-TIME: West Ham 3-1 Chelsea
What a turnaround from West Ham. They looked way off the pace during the first half but the introduction of Diame changed everything. Not only did he score, but he drove the Hammers forward whenever possible. The Chelsea fans do not look happy! If Man United and Man City win later today, the Blues will be out of the title race already.
That's all from Upton Park this afternoon. Be sure to check out our match analysis though, which will be with you shortly. Thanks for joining us and stick with Sports Mole throughout the afternoon for coverage of all the football at home and abroad.
Written by
Liam Apicella
Liam Apicella
