West Ham target Zouma’s flank.
With Aaron Cresswell surging with vicious intent, and Dimitri Payet dancing, fluttering, like a wasp, Kurt Zouma had a lot to contend with on the Chelsea right flank. Targeting the out-of-position Chelsea man was a deliberate move by Bilic, that much was clear. As much as Zouma offered Chelsea an added aerial threat at set pieces – he nearly headed them level, with only a sliver of the ball yet to cross the line when Lanzini cleared it – he didn’t provide for them the usual width that a modern full back must. It freed up Cresswell to marshal Willian, and then surge into the space Zouma was reluctant to push up and fill. A moment in the second half summed it up, when Hazard played a first-time, instinctual pass out into space on the right, and Zouma was nowhere to be seen. When West Ham eased into the dominant force in the second half, enjoying their man advantage, the play was exclusively funneled down Zouma’s flank. It was from that side that Cresswell’s cross came, from which Carroll headed home the winner.
