Jorginho&s blushes were spared as Christian Pulisic&s 90th-minute winner helped propel the Blues to a late win over West Ham.
After resting six players before the Europa League semi-final on Thursday, it looked like they might hold on for a precious point when Jorginho missed a penalty in the 87th minute.
After Craig Dawson was sent off for a foul on Romelu Lukaku in the build-up to the penalty, Christian Pulisic came to the rescue with a low cross.
After a frustrating afternoon that looked set to continue the poor home form of manager Thomas Tuchel, it sent the Bridge into raptures.
The victory gave him and his players some relief, as they recovered from their defeat by the fourth-place team.
West Ham will be distraught they didn't get anything from the game, with all of their bench starting.
West Ham remain seventh, eight points behind their nearest rivals, and will feel cheated by the fact that they are still in the race.
The recent troubles on the pitch have mirrored the uncertainty off it as the club waits for new owners to take charge and give it a new direction.
Recent defensive problems, with the team having conceded 11 goals in their three previous home games, have not been helped by news that Antonio Rudiger is set to leave at the end of the season after failing to agree a new deal.
It looked as if Jorginho had thrown away the chance to win the game when his under-hit penalty was easily saved by the West Ham goalkeeper.
A clean sheet for the hosts was a good sign, especially as they were without the injured Rudiger and James, and had to make a late change when the Danes were named in the starting line-up.
James wasn't seen in the first half. The expert marshalling of the evergreen Mark Noble made it difficult for the Blues to penetrate the defensive wall of West Ham.
The crowd of 32,231 was restricted because of sanctions against owner Roman Abramovich, and there was little to cheer about before the break with only an off-target effort by N&golo Kante coming anywhere close.
West Ham were happy to soak up the pressure and went close to scoring through Said Benrahma, but his effort was ruled to be in the air.
The home fans got off their seats when the first shot on target came close to the hour mark. Kante and Chalobah had their shots saved by Fabianski.
Tuchel woke from a sleep to berate the officials after Rice was ruled to have been foul after coming on to replace Noble.
Tuchel made a triple substitution after Werner went close again.
It made an impact quickly. The man was pulled back by the man who slipped him through. The referee awarded a penalty and a yellow card, but the VAR review upgraded it to a red.
It looked like it would be a home win when Jorginho stepped up.
His embarrassment was saved by the player who scored his seventh goal of the season from Alonso's cut-back which made the fans punch the air in delight.
Formation 3-4-1-2.
14Chalobah6Thiago Silva28Azpilicueta12Loftus-Cheek7Kanté5Jorginho3AlonsoFormation 3-4-2.
31Johnson15Dawson3Cresswell5Coufal28Soucek16Noble26MasuakuThe match ended with West Ham United 0.
The second half ended with West Ham United 0.
Marcos Alonso won a free kick.
The West Ham United player was hit by the ball.
An attempt was missed. Mason Mount's shot from the right side of the box is too high. Romelu Lukaku assisted.
Goal! West Ham United was blanked. The left-footed shot was taken from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Marcos Alonso assisted with a cross.
An attempt was missed. The shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left. Christian Pulisic assisted.
Penalty saved! Jorginho's shot was saved in the bottom left corner.
The man is shown a red card.
The card was upgraded by the VAR.
A penalty. A foul is drawn in the penalty area.
The penalty was conceded after a foul in the penalty area.
Corner, London. They had a match with Craig Dawson.
The attempt was blocked. Romelu Lukaku's attempt from the centre of the box is blocked. César Azpilicueta assisted by a cross.
The defensive half is where Mason Mount won the free kick.
Craig Dawson of West Ham United was hit by a ball.
Marcos Alonso was shown a yellow card for a bad foul.
Marcos Alonso had a foul.
Tomas Soucek won a free kick in the attacking half.
There is a substitution for West Ham United. Lanzini is the new replacement for Saïd Benrahma.
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