LONDON — In an exciting London derby held at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea rallied to claim a 2-1 victory over West Ham in the Premier League on Monday.

This win marked Chelsea’s second triumph in their last eight matches, propelling them into fourth position on the league table, just two points ahead of Manchester City and four points shy of third-place Nottingham Forest. West Ham, on the other hand, found themselves in 15th place.

Jarrod Bowen, who recently returned from a foot injury that sidelined him for six games, made a significant impact just before halftime, putting West Ham in the lead.

In a moment of miscommunication, Chelsea’s Levi Colwill undercooked a back pass from the sideline that allowed West Ham’s captain to compose himself and slot the ball into the bottom corner, overcoming goalkeeper Filip Jørgensen, who took the field as a replacement for the struggling Robert Sanchez.

Chelsea responded in the 64th minute as West Ham seemed to be gaining momentum.

Enzo Fernandez’s shot was remarkably denied on the goal line, but the subsequent rebound fell favorably for Chelsea substitute Pedro Neto, who drilled it in to equalize. The refereeing team took their time to assess the play before confirming the goal, despite West Ham players protesting that Bowen had been fouled in the process.

The late winner for Chelsea arrived courtesy of Cole Palmer, mixed with an element of fortune. With just 16 minutes remaining, Palmer’s cross from a tight angle was inadvertently redirected into his own net by West Ham defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

“We’re just disappointed to lose after leading the game,” Bowen expressed post-match. “We gave it our all. We faced a team that’s competing for the top spots. On another occasion, things might have turned out differently.”

This defeat brought a challenging return to Stamford Bridge for West Ham’s new head coach Graham Potter, who had been dismissed from his role as Chelsea manager in April 2023 after a brief tenure of less than seven months.