West Ham vs Chelsea Review
Chelsea secured their first victory of the season with a 5-1 demolition of London rivals West Ham, who began their Premier League campaign with consecutive losses for the ninth time. Chelsea suffered a setback before the match even started, as Cole Palmer pulled out of the starting lineup due to an injury during the warm-up. Their difficulties increased in the sixth minute when Lucas Paquetá unleashed a powerful left-footed shot to give the Hammers an early lead.
However, Chelsea quickly exploited the home side’s defensive weaknesses to level the score. Marc Cucurella redirected Pedro Neto’s corner towards João Pedro, who scored his first goal against West Ham with a header. The frantic opening 20 minutes seemed to take another turn when Niclas Füllkrug fired a left-footed shot into the net, but VAR disallowed the goal due to an offside against Jean-Clair Todibo in the buildup.
The brief moment of joy that swept through the London Stadium quickly faded as Chelsea turned the game around within 17 minutes thanks to Neto. The Portuguese player was left unmarked as he slipped into the box and volleyed in Pedro’s cross, while West Ham’s defense remained static and unaware of the threat. Estêvão, who came on for Palmer, then set up Chelsea’s third goal by cutting the ball back for Enzo Fernández to tap in, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history to assist a Chelsea goal at 18 years and 120 days old.
Enzo Fernández had a chance to score a fourth after Chelsea once again easily broke through West Ham’s defense but missed the target from Neto’s cross on the left. However, a fourth goal soon followed when Mads Hermansen mishandled a corner, allowing Moisés Caicedo to capitalize on the mistake. Trevoh Chalobah added a fifth goal just before the hour mark after West Ham’s poor attempts to clear the ball, prompting many Hammers fans to leave early.
Substitute Kyle Walker-Peters, then delivered a cross-shot that was cleared from the goalmouth by Caicedo, as the Hammers showed some form of response. Moments later, it seemed Chelsea were on the verge of scoring their sixth goal, with Reece James expertly setting up Estêvão, but the Brazilian’s shot was deflected, allowing Hermansen to make an easy save. In the end, it was a disappointing night for West Ham and manager Graham Potter, who has yet to defeat Chelsea in eight managerial encounters (four draws, four losses).
After earning only nine points from his first 10 home Premier League games in charge, Potter broke an unwanted club record previously held by Alan Curbishley and Avram Grant, who each secured 10 points in their first 10 home matches. Meanwhile, Chelsea secured their 33rd victory in this competition against the Hammers, having only beaten Tottenham Hotspur more times (37).
