Early Scare Poses Little Effect as Chelsea Annihilate West Ham at the London Stadium

Despite an early challenge from the Hammers, Chelsea were able to bounce back from a poor effort against Crystal Palace in what was a 5-1 hammering of West Ham United. 

(Image Credit to Getty Images)

Prior to the game, Blues fans might have been surprised to see Cole Palmer scratched from the lineup entirely. That surprise turned to genuine concern after Lucas Paqueta gave West Ham a very early lead at the London Stadium. 

That concern would eventually be repressed as the Blues would go on to score 5 unanswered goals, further adding to the early struggles of Graham Potter’s Hammers squad. 

Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, and Enzo Fernandez all scored for Chelsea before the first half was out, while Moises Caicedo and Trevor Chalobah all added their own goals in the second half. 

While Chelsea rebounded quite well from the poor performance against Palace, major questions have to be asked of this West Ham squad. While an EFL Cup tie against Wolves should give West Ham fans a chance to bring their focus away from the Premier League, the Hammers face Nottingham Forest and Tottenham immediately after that cup tie. Failure to secure a result in either of those two fixtures could easily secure the Hammers’ place in the relegation battle. 

As for Chelsea, they will have an extended break of sorts before playing Fulham in their next Premier League fixture. 

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Article written by Noah Guttman