Chelsea were too much for West Ham United on Friday night, securing a 5-1 victory and their first Premier League win of the season at the London Stadium.
The Blues couldn’t have had a worse start. Cole Palmer was ruled out during the warmup, and then his replacement Estêvão gave away possession with a flick that led to the opening goal from Lucas Paquetá, who struck from range to beat Robert Sánchez.
West Ham’s lead lasted just nine minutes. João Pedro headed in Marc Cucurella’s flick off a corner. Chelsea were reminded to be careful after the Hammers appeared to score, but the goal was waved off because Jean-Clair Todibo was offside in the buildup.
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The visitors garnered full control of the game from that point as they regularly dominated duels, and after getting in front through Pedro Neto, they scored their third goal when Estêvão made amends for his earlier error by skipping past the defense and finding Enzo Fernández for a simple finish.
Fernández was one of Chelsea’s brightest performers, dictating the game from midfield alongside Moisés Caicedo, who scored their fourth goal after goalkeeper Mads Hermansen made a mess of a corner.
Enzo Maresca’s side increased its lead to 5-1 when defender Trevoh Chalobah scored in the 58th minute to put the game out of reach.
Positives
Chelsea had several promising moments when they overwhelmed their opponents. They controlled the game against West Ham and created a plethora of chances. Set pieces were a particular highlight, with Maresca’s side scoring three times from corners.
– Premier League recap: Chelsea rout West Ham in London derby
– Chelsea’s Cole Palmer injured in warmup for West Ham match
Negatives
Palmer sat out of the match as a precaution because of an injury, which Chelsea fans hope doesn’t become a lingering concern.
Manager rating out of 10
Enzo Maresca, 8 — The Italian’s side looked much more prepared than their opponents, with Chelsea establishing control of the game when they scored their second goal. He also ensured his team didn’t slow down after the break, as Chelsea came out with similar intent, scoring their fourth and fifth goals before the hour mark.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Robert Sánchez, 5 — The goalkeeper lost the line of the ball as it swerved past him for Paqueta’s opener, but he could have used his opposite hand.
DF Marc Cucurella, 7 — The Spain international rose above everyone at the near post in the 15th minute to assist João Pedro’s equalizer. It was a comfortable game for Cucurella overall, with some positive passes with Fernández before Cucurella was replaced by Jorrel Hato in the 69th minute.
DF Trevoh Chalobah, 7 — The 26-year-old was always in the right position to narrow the angles, and he also delayed the opposition enough to let his teammates get back to help defend. Chalobah then scored Chelsea’s fifth goal to seal the win when found by João Pedro after a corner.
DF Tosin Adarabioyo, 7 — Adarabioyo was aggressive when challenging in duels, getting tight to West Ham’s forwards to clear direct balls the other way. He also controlled the ball a lot in the second half, with Chelsea keeping possession to play the game out.
DF Malo Gusto, 6 — West Ham found it difficult to pick up Malo Gusto, who made multiple intelligent runs to stretch the back three. He also fared well defensively, though Hammers wing back El Hadji Malick Diouf looked isolated at times.
MF Moisés Caicedo, 8 — The Ecuador international took care of possession and rarely made a bad pass, while also choosing the right moments to progress the ball forward. He capped his performance with a goal after an error from Hermansen, who deflected a corner to the Chelsea midfielder.
MF Enzo Fernández, 8 — The Argentina international had a good time at the London Stadium on Friday night, at one point exchanging several close passes with Caicedo to the delight of the traveling fans. He then scored after getting ahead of his defender inside the box to finish Estêvão’s cross, but he should have done better in the second half, when he fired one over the bar.
AM Estêvão, 6 — The Brazilian teenager had a careless giveaway with a flick before West Ham’s opening goal, but he made amends with a positive run to get past the defense before cutting the ball back to Fernández for Chelsea’s third goal. He had a chance to score after securing a pass from Reece James in the second half, but he looked hesitant to shoot.
AM João Pedro, 8 — The Brazilian equalized for the Blues with a well-timed jump and header. Then, he picked out Neto to register his first of two assists in the match.
AM Pedro Neto, 7 — Neto was a bright spark in Chelsea’s attack. The Portugal international played the ball into the box before the tying goal, and then scored to put the visitors in front when he beat his defender with intelligent movement at the back post.
ST Liam Delap, 7 — Delap led the line impressively when competing for second balls and holding up the play for his teammates to collect the ball from him. The 22-year-old passed the ball to Estêvão for Chelsea’s third goal of the game.
Substitutes
MF Andrey Santos, 6 — The Brazilian worked hard to support Chelsea’s counterattacks, but his final ball could have been better at times.
DF Reece James, 7 — The Chelsea captain almost made an instant impact with an incisive pass to Estêvão, who should have done much better with the chance.
DF Jorrel Hato, 6 — The Netherlands international came on for Cucurella to make his Chelsea debut, and he picked up a yellow card in the 87th minute.
DF Wesley Fofana, 6 — Fofana returned after some unfortunate injury luck while playing for Chelsea. He kept things simple as the game was effectively over when he entered.
AM Jamie Gittens, N/R — Gittens entered in the 77th minute for Estêvão, but Chelsea had lowered the tempo by that time.
