Marko Arnautovic’s 6th-minute goal was the difference as West Ham United managed to edge defending champions Chelsea 1-0 in a hard fought Premier League clash at the London Stadium on Saturday to effectively end the Blues’ chances of defending their title.

Chelsea, who had been held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico Madrid in mid-week, got off to the worst possible start when the mercurial Austrian gave the hosts, who had slipped into the relegation zone after back-to-back losses, a shock lead.

With leaders Manchester City travelling to second-placed Manchester United on Sunday, the Blues had the perfect chance to trim the gap on the Manchester clubs by registering a routine win over the beleaguered Hammers but they put in a sub-par performance and simply weren’t good enough.

Eden Hazard tried his best to conjure something, but Hammers custodian Adrian was in inspired form and kept the visitors at bay with relative ease till the interval.

Antonio Conte, sensing his team needed to change things in the second-half, brought on winger Pedro for the ineffective Tiemoue Bakayoko at half-time, but the Blues struggled to break down a resilient West Ham defence.

Victor Moses came on in place of Marcos Alonso five minutes before the hour-mark as Chelsea started to amp up the pressure, but even the introduction of Wilian could not inspire Chelsea as they continued to stutter in the final third.

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The last 10 minutes saw the Blues enjoy their best spell of the game, with Alvaro Morata and Hazard both guilty of missing gilt-edged chances as the Hammers held on for their third win of the season.

David Moyes’ men climb into 18th place and while they are still in the relegation zone, they will be pumped after their momentous triumph and will be charged up for their next Premier League clash: A mid-week London Derby with Arsenal on Wednesday.

For Chelsea, their title hopes have effectively been extinguished and considering Liverpool play their game in hand against Everton on Sunday, will be extremely lucky if they manage to hold on to third place after the weekend.

The Blues will have to pick up the pieces and hope to bounce back but their next clash, a away game against Huddersfield Town, won’t be easy and it remains to be seen if they can turn their season around.