Brazil star Oscar was rested by Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s fixture with West Ham, but watched on as his Blues side crumbled to a 3-1 defeat having led at half-time.
Vote for Ramires in the Samba Gold trophy 2012
Ramires started the encounter in midfield and was heavily involved in the first-half as Chelsea impressed and took the lead through the outstanding Juan Mata.
West Ham made two changes at the break, though, and came out rejuvenated, with Mohamed Diame’s introduction in particular helping West Ham seize a foothold in midfield.
On the hour-mark, their improvement told as Carlton Cole headed home a controversial equaliser. That was the cue for Oscar to be summoned from the bench minutes later in place of Edin Hazard.
The match continued to flow in the direction of West Ham, though, and the Brazilian’s introduction did little to influence proceedings.
In the final five minutes, Chelsea were punished for their lacklustre display. First, slack marking in the area allowed Diame to power home with five minutes to play, before a terrible pass from Ashley Cole allowed striker Modibo Maiga to round-off the victory.
Chelsea may have scored their first goal in three fixtures under Benitez, but a defeat leaves the Blues with just two points from his brief tenure and the already great pressure is beginning to increase.
