Chelsea put their offensive woes from the season opener to bed in a 5–1 demolition of West Ham United on the road.
Before kick-off, Chelsea fans were rocked by the news that Cole Palmer had suffered an injury in the warm-up and was subsequently dropped from the starting XI. Things went from bad to worse when Lucas Paquetá opened the scoring with a stunning left-footed strike just six minutes in.
The Blues didn’t trail long as FIFA Club World Cup hero João Pedro scored his first of the season to equalize. A quick scare at the other end again as West Ham thought they retook the lead, but it was chalked off after a VAR review. Pedro turned from scorer to provider in the 23rd minute assisting Pedro Neto for the go-ahead goal and the Blues did not look back.
Estêvão, who replaced Palmer in the starting lineup, assisted Enzo Fernández for Chelsea’s third goal of the first half. A resounding turnaround for the Blues to go into the tunnel up two goals.
Right from the restart, Chelsea continued to pressure the West Ham defence. The home side were outclassed in midfield and were often scrambling to defend against a threatening Blues attack. Moisés Caicedo added a fourth from a corner in a calamitous moment from Mads Hermansen. A fifth followed shortly thereafter from another corner, this time from Trevoh Chalobah as West Ham fans started heading for the exit with 30 minutes to go.
The game ended 5–1 in favor of the away side as scenes of empty seats and boos painted a worrisome picture for Graham Potter.
On the other side, an evening that began with concern following Palmer’s surprise removal and Paquetá’s long-range effort ended with a Blues goal barrage. A dominant showing for their first win of the season with eyes shifting toward Fulham.
Chelsea player ratings from the game below.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. West Ham (4-2-3-1)
Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen, Josh Acheampong, Dario Essugo, Gabriel Slonina
Player of the Match: João Pedro
West Ham (3-4-1-2): Mads Hermansen; Nayef Aguerd, Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo; Malick Diouf, Tomáš Souček, James Ward-Prowse, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Lucas Paquetá; Niclas Füllkrug, Jarrod Bowen
Subs: Alphonse Areola, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Kyle Walker-Peters, Andy Irving, Guido Rodriguez, Oliver Scarles, Callum Marshall, Freddie Potts, Callum Wilson
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. West Ham: Joao Pedro Leads 5–1 Thrashing After Palmer Injury.