Chelsea Burst West Ham's Bubble In a 5-1 Drubbing At The London Stadium

Pedro Neto (left) scoring past Mads Hermansen (right) to put Chelsea 2-1 up. Image Credit via The Sun Sam Dymond

Chelsea ironed out West Ham in a comfortable 5-1 win at the London Stadium in the Premier League.

After an early setback, the Blues cruised past the Hammers. Turning a potentially difficult affair into a showcase of their new slick third kit.

Before kick-off, Enzo Maresca’s side were given their first challenge of the match as star player Cole Palmer was ruled out of the competition during the warm-up. This gave the new arrival, Estevao Willian, his first Premier League start as he was deployed on the right flank.

Six minutes after kick off, the home side took a surprising lead. An early flick on from Estevao caused Chelsea to lose possession in their own half. Lucas Paqueta picked up the ball and was given ample space to let fly. The Brazilian midfielder unleashed a rocket shot that flew past Robert Sanchez in the top corner. Questions may arise as to whether Sanchez could have done better to stop the effort; however, nothing should be taken away from the brilliant skill on display from Paqueta in scoring from such a distance.

The away side did not take long to respond to the early goal, as Joao Pedro grabbed the equaliser and his first Premier League goal in a Chelsea outfit. The goal came from a corner, a trend that would become frequent over the contest, as it was swung into the near post for Marc Cucurella to flick on. The pass evaded the opposition defence for Pedro to head into the back of the net in the 15^th minute.

Chelsea’s struggles at the back were on show in the 18^th minute, soon after their equaliser. Graham Potter’s side were allowed to bypass Maresca’s defence a little too easily, and after a scramble in the box, Niclas Fullkrug drilled the ball into the net. Fortunately for Blues fans, VAR intervened and spared Chelsea’s blushes, disallowing the goal for an offside pass to Jean-Clair Todibo.

A combination of the two Pedros gave Chelsea the lead that they would hold on to effortlessly. Trevoh Chalobah won the ball from Paqueta, the goalscorer, after a loose touch on the edge of the box. This gave Joao Pedro an opportunity in the box in which he would cross precisely into the path of Pedro Neto’s run. The Portuguese winger ran on the end of the cross to tap home with the inside of his boot in the 23^rd minute.

In the 34^th minute, Enzo Fernández cemented Chelsea’s hold on the game, scoring a tap-in to extend their lead to 3-1. In a quick move that spun West Ham’s defence, Liam Delap and Estevao combined to give the Brazilian Winger space to run dangerously into the box. The debutant passed the ball across the six-yard box and put it on a plate for Fernandez to score into an empty net.

The second half started exactly where the first left off, as Chelsea scored their fourth of the game to turn it from a contentious contest into a demolition derby. A Fernandez corner troubled the opposition goalkeeper, Mads Hermansen, who spilt his attempt to clear the ball, which fell nicely to Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian midfielder scored instinctively, similar to the technique of a striker, poking his effort in off the crossbar in the 54^th minute.

Not even four minutes after this defensive calamity, the Irons’ woes continued, enabling unlikely goalscorer, Chalobah, to score the fifth and final goal of the game. From yet another corner, it led to another scramble, which Chalobah poached upon and fried any hopes of a West Ham comeback.

Trevoh Chalobah (middle) celebrating his goal that put Chelsea 5-1 up against West Ham. Image credit: ESPN https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/740615

With Chelsea 5-1 up in the 58^th minute, Maresca understandably decided to take his foot off the gas and made a few rotations to his team. Whilst these substitutions all played relatively well, especially Reece James, after coming on, apart from a couple of chances, the Blues plateaued until the full-time whistle.

It was an absolute disaster for Chelsea boss Graham Potter, who has now conceded eight goals in West Ham’s two opening fixtures. It seemed as soon as Neto scored to give the Blues the lead, the irons downed tools and already accepted their defeat. For fans of the home side, it must be frustrating seeing the quality in this side, as displayed from Paqueta’s opener, to be wasted in a side with such a weak mentality. Potter was already under scrutiny from fans, I can imagine a result like this will only increase the pressure on his head.

For Chelsea, however, despite a poor opening twenty minutes against a side in worryingly bad form, there are plenty of positives to take from this game. In particular, the fact that they were still able to score five goals without Palmer, their main man, is a sign of the talent Chelsea holds in the front line.  

Estevão was given the official Player of the Match award, and I am pleased that the teenager has seemingly adapted to the Premier League quickly. That being said, I would personally have given the award to another Brazilian, Joao Pedro. After what was a quiet display against Crystal Palace, he was instrumental in turning this tie on its head, scoring the equaliser and securing the assist to put the Blues in the lead.

Against a physical side such as West Ham, Enzo Maresca made the right decision, deploying both Delap and Joao Pedro together, as Delap’s physical presence gave Pedro and the other forwards the freedom to overwhelm the Iron’s defence.

Overall, a big confidence booster for the Blues after that opening day stalemate against Crystal Palace. There are definitely issues that need to be addressed, particularly the defence and its organisation in the absence of Levi Colwill, however, for now, Chelsea should go into the lunchtime derby against Fulham next week beaming with confidence.