Gary Neville singled out Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso for praise after his display in Sunday’s 1-0 win against West Ham.
The Blues ended their home losing streak by picked up a much-needed three points at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League encounter.
Despite Jorginho’s missed penalty three minutes from time, there was still enough minutes on the clock for Chelsea to find a winner.
Christian Pulisic, who was thrown on as a substitute by his manager Thomas Tuchel, stroked home a 90th minute winner on his weaker left foot.
It means Tuchel’s side stay third and five points above fourth-placed Arsenal.
Sky Sports pundit Neville decided to award Chelsea wing-back Alonso as his man of the match.
The 31-year-old worked tirelessly up and down the left flank, as well as providing the bit of quality with his cross to assist the winning goal late on.
“That assist, I think he’s kept going down that left-hand side, put a couple of good crosses in. His game has been pretty consistent and a really good [defensive] header there at the far post,” Neville told Sky Sports’ Main Event channel (3:53pm, 24 April).
Chelsea do enough
Thankfully, the Blues just about got over the line in a contest where they were nowhere near their best.
The fact that Tuchel could make three substitutions to reenergise the team was a massive plus because those coming on did make an impact.
It’s another step close to a top-four finish, which is the absolute minimum for this club.
The fact that the substitutes contributed means the competition for places ahead of next month’s FA Cup final will continue to heat up.
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