Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer fire Chelsea to emphatic win at West Ham
John Brewin at the London Stadium
Date publised: Sat 21 Sep 2024 14.38 BST

Yet another Chelsea away victory, more positive signs for Enzo Maresca and the sight of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali sitting together in the stand. If harmony has broken out at Chelsea, then we need to talk about West Ham.

After two home defeats, the East End jury was already out on Julen Lopetegui. Many Hammers fans were behind phasing out David Moyes to get in an adventurous continental replacement. That the Basque is not one of Europe's great football liberals has already been noticed.

Can he organise a defence? Certainly not against Chelsea. Their goals came via great aching gaps, straight through the gate. There was zero defensive rigour in Nicolas Jackson's early goal, the two that followed were much the same. "A very soft way to lose," said Lopetegui.

For that first, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the right-back, had been looking in the other direction as Jackson was sent away by a quick free-kick from Jadon Sancho to beat Alphonse Areola. Two games, two assists for Sancho, though like last week at Bournemouth, the scorer left with plenty to do.

Christopher Nkunku, match-winner at the Vitality, stayed on the bench until the second half as Sancho received a first start. Chelsea, with their eye for a deal, believe they have pulled off a coup with Sancho's loan and cut-price transfer fee. Perhaps chaos at Chelsea suits Sancho more than dysfunction at Manchester United. Footballers can be funny like that.

Eighteen minutes in and Lopetegui was raging on the sidelines. In Jackson, the rawest of materials, Chelsea have a useful striker, or at least an asset who can be cashed in for more than he cost, as is the corporate priority at Stamford Bridge.

Toothless at Bournemouth, he was excellent here, his second goal taken expertly with the outside of his boot. Moises Caicedo had – too easily – jabbed a through ball into the striker's path. "It was a good finish," as the scorer said. "It's not just that they scored the goals," said Maresca of Jackson and Cole Palmer, his later goalscorer. "The way they played off the ball was important."

Chelsea are still hardly watertight. As at Bournemouth, even when running riot at Wolves, they remain vulnerable to opponents running beyond their midfield.

They were fortunate, too. The PGMOL chief, Howard Webb, has explaining to do after VAR Stuart Attwell ruled Wesley Fofana's manhandling of Crysencio Summerville was "fleeting", a ruling Lopetegui was unwilling to discuss: "It's only one excuse."

Just as red-faced as Moyes, who happened to be covering the match as a TV pundit in Doha, ever could be, Lopetegui had seen enough. Tomas Soucek replaced the anonymous Guido Rodríguez after 38 minutes. "If a coach changes a player in the first half, it is not the fault of the player, it is the fault of the coach," said Lopetegui.

Within 70 seconds of the restart, the three points were heading fully westwards. As Maximilian Kilman back-pedalled, he was foxed by Jackson's intelligent pass. Palmer is too good a finisher to let such an opportunity pass. For all the attacking talent Chelsea have stockpiled, each goal was wholly preventable.

"They have the right to complain, the only solution is to do better," said Lopetegui of the boos greeting Chelsea's third and Summerville's substitution.

Another Hammers malfunction is that the best of Jarrod Bowen comes off the flanks, not when asked to hold up the ball centrally. Not that he received much service. "We were never in the game, which is an awful thing to say," he said.

Lopetegui replaced Lucas Paqueta, a disappointment under the new regime, with Andy Irving, a mysterious Scot signed from Austria Klagenfurt a year ago making his Hammers bow. He arrived into a zombified contest. That West Ham's season has started with three straight home league defeats, an unwelcome club record, had long been decided.

For Chelsea, celebrations in the away dressing room, both co-owners poking their noses in. "It's always good when we win a game for them," said Maresca. "They were all happy … I think we are on the right path. This is a long journey. It looks like everything is fine, but not everything is fine. We could attack better, we could defend better."

Daily Mail: MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS
West Ham (4-2-3-1): Areola 5, Wan-Bissaka 5, Mavropanos 4, Kilman 5, Emerson 5, (Cresswell 73, 5), Rodriguez 3 (Soucek 38, 5), Alvarez 3 (Soler 53, 5), Kudus 6, Paqueta 4 (Irving 72, 5), Summerville 6 (Antonio 54, 5), Bowen 5
Manager: Julen Lopetegui 4
Booked: Soucek, Alvarez, Kilman, Antonio, Soler
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez 6, Fofana 6.5 (Diasi 57, 6), Adarabioyo 7, Colwill 7, Cucurella 7, Caicedo 8, Fernandez 7, Madueke 6.5, Palmer 7 (Felix 64, 6), Sancho (Neto 57, 6.5) 7.5, Jackson 9 (Nkunku 64, 6.5)
Manager: Enzo Maresca 8
Goals: Jackson 14 and 18, Palmer 47
Booked: Fofana, Cucurella
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