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West Ham fans on Twitter were up in arms on Monday night after Manuel Pellegrini elected to substitute off Javier Hernandez for Robert Snodgrass at half time in a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Perhaps their reactions, as seen below, are understandable – after all, it’s somewhat counter-intuitive to take off your most natural goalscorer when you’re chasing a 1-0 lead. It’s not as though fatigue was a factor either.

But Pellegrini’s controversial call turned out to be a stroke of genius. While it may not have sealed any points for the Hammers on a night when Eden Hazard decided the result virtually single handed, the visitors’ second-half performance was a drastic improvement on the first.

Indeed, with Marko Arnautovic leading the line and Snodgrass adding a bit more tenacity to the midfield, West Ham went on to take eight efforts at goal in the second half compared to just a solitary attempt in the first.

There were even moments when a West Ham equaliser looked far more likely than a second goal for the Blues, which perhaps proved to their detriment in the end as enough space opened up for Hazard to seal his brace.

But Pellegrini’s controversial half-time switch was the catalyst for the vast improvement in West Ham’s performance following the interval, silencing those on Twitter who branded him ‘clueless’ and even called for him to be dismissed as Irons boss.

Maybe next time, fans will be a little more patient before immediately casting judgement on the Chilean’s selection decisions.