Chelsea bounces back with a win

Chelsea rebounded from back-to-back losses, at Everton then Wolverhampton, which provided a walk-up call for the team and its title pretensions

London: Try as he might, Timo Werner just cannot score for Chelsea at the moment. Fortunately for the Germany star, his fellow strikers are finding the net. Tammy Abraham demonstrated the ruthlessness Werner is lacking by netting two late goals as Chelsea beat West Ham 3-0 in the English Premier League on Monday.

It meant the team rebounded from back-to-back losses, at Everton then Wolverhampton, which provided a walk-up call for Chelsea and its title pretensions. Werner’s scoring woes haven’t ended, though.

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Make that nine straight games in all competitions without a goal for Chelsea’s major offseason acquisition, who is playing out on the left wing because of some injuries among the midfielders. He is still getting chances, however, and failing to convert them.

In the first half, he was set free for a one-on-one chance but shot straight at West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. Then late in the game, with the points secured for Chelsea, he smashed a shot against the crossbar from close range. Werner looked to the skies, as if he was pleading for help.

Abraham, meanwhile, scored twice on his return to the team as he replaced Olivier Giroud, the France striker who had seven goals in Chelsea’s previous seven games.

Wolverhampton manager Nuno Espirito Santo saw his team lose in the rain at Burnley 2-1 — then turned his fire on the referee. Nuno faces being punished for a post-match rant, during which he said referee Lee Mason “does not have the quality to whistle a game in the Premier League.”

It came after Wolves were sunk by close-range goals from Burnley strikers Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood. Fabio Silva replied for Wolves with an 89th-minute penalty. Burnley climbed out of the bottom three with its third win of the season, and is unbeaten in four games.