Christian Pulisic scored a last-minute winner as Chelsea earned a narrow victory over West Ham to increase their stranglehold on third place in the Premier League.
The United States international latched onto a low cross from Marcos Alonso to give the Blues a late lead after they gradually ramped up the pressure on their visitors. Substitute Pulisic's winner came moments after Jorginho saw a lacklustre penalty saved following Craig Dawson's foul on Romelu Lukaku in the area, which also saw the Hammers defender sent off.
Chances were at a premium throughout the match but Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will likely feel his side deserved victory due to their mammoth tally of 26 shots and two-thirds of possession.
Here are five talking points from a hard-fought affair at Stamford Bridge.
Rotation galore
It is the time of season when managers must weigh up just how much they will demand of their star men if they are competing on multiple fronts.
To that end, it was no surprise to see David Moyes make multiple changes to the West Ham starting line-up ahead of their upcoming Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. The Irons boss chose to leave the likes of Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Declan Rice - regular mainstays in the first XI - on the bench for the short trip to West London.
Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, saw his side eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid in mid-April but he still has an FA Cup final against Liverpool to look forward to in May. This my explain why he left Reece James out of the matchday squad rather than risk the star right-back, who has been suffering with discomfort in his hamstring.
Elsewhere, Ruben Loftus-Cheek shifted to right wing-back, Kai Havertz came in for Romelu Lukaku and Andreas Christensen - who was injured during the warm-up - was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah in the starting XI as the Blues aimed to bounce back from their 4-2 defeat by Arsenal in midweek.
Blunt Blues
If there was a moment which summed up Chelsea's lack of attacking threat throughout the first half, it came in the 30th minute as Kai Havertz chose not to shoot but instead take another touch and turn out as the ball was pulled back to him in the area.
By the time he identified a pass, the chance had gone begging as West Ham's defence was able to shut off the shooting angles and the danger was ultimately averted. In fact, the hosts failed to register a shot on target until the second half, with their dominance over possession - they had two-thirds of the ball - counting for little.
At the other end, West Ham did not boast much more by way of cutting edge and Edouard Mendy was just as untroubled as Lukasz Fabianski between the posts in the first 45 minutes. This was perhaps to be expected as the visitors lined up without their two top scorers this season in Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio.
Second-half improvement
It would be a stretch to say the game sprang into life after the interval, but there was some semblance of threat as the stopwatch approached the hour mark.
First, Tomas Soucek forced a fine block from the ever-brilliant Thiago Silva after Andriy Yarmolenko pulled the ball back to him from the byline. Then, at the other end, N'Golo Kante was almost the beneficiary of a wicked deflection as his effort from the edge of the area cannoned off Ben Johnson.
Fortunately for the visitors, Lukasz Fabianski was alert despite his lack of activity on the afternoon and was able to make a calm save. He was also called into action moments later as Trevoh Chalobah let loose a powerful effort from outside the area, which the Irons goalkeeper saved at his near post.
It was a sign of Chelsea's fresh intent as the second half ticked on, so it was no surprise to see David Moyes respond by introducing Declan Rice for the final half-hour.
Tuchel's telling decision
Even as Chelsea tried and failed to find a way through their stubborn visitors, still their £97.5million striker sat on the bench.
Romelu Lukaku lasted just an hour before he was hooked in Wednesday's defeat by Arsenal and at the weekend he watched on from the sidelines until the 75th minute, when Thomas Tuchel eventually decided to introduce him, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic as part of a triple change.
Ironically, the Chelsea manager finally acted just after his side were showing some signs of finding a breakthrough. Mason Mount saw an effort blocked, Timo Werner fired into the side netting and Marcos Alonso should have done better when mishitting after Kai Havertz found him with a cross.
However, Tuchel's substitutions ultimately came up trumps as Lukaku won the penalty which Jorginho missed before Pulisic scored the winner.
The European frame
Where will Chelsea and West Ham finish in the table this season? Have your say in the comments!
Although Chelsea and West Ham may have other priorities during the season's finale - namely the FA Cup and Europa League respectively - the two London clubs remain locked in battles for European qualification.
Their victory over West Ham means the Blues have increased their grip on third spot and may no longer be nervously looking over their shoulder at the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham, with a five-point cushion and a game in hand - to be played against Manchester United on Thursday - over the former.
A few places down the table, West Ham passed up the chance to leapfrog the Red Devils into the Europa Conference League spot with their loss in West London. There is no denying that winning the Europa League - which would secure Champions League qualification - is David Moyes' main goal but he cannot put all his eggs in one basket ahead of a challenging two-legged clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.
