Chelsea Cruise Past Hammers
West Ham United obviously wanted to make up for their previous Premier League game on the road which ended in a 5-2 defeat by Crystal Palace when they went to Chelsea this afternoon. Unfortunately, they conceded five goals again, as the match ended 5-0 at Stamford Bridge.
David Moyes’ team selection was unchanged from the side that claimed a 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool eight days ago. George Earthy was again included in a first-team matchday squad after suffering mild concussion in the 2-0 defeat to Fulham last month, while Kaelan Casey and Divin Mubama were also amongst the substitutes.
Angelo Ogbonna started his third consecutive game and in so doing made his 200th Premier League appearance for the club.
The Hammers had the chance to do the double over Mauricio Pochettino’s side and had chances to go ahead early on. Tomáš Souček tried his luck but was prevented from putting his team in front by a good save from home goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović.
Nicolas Jackson then went close for the hosts but failed to hit the target, following a free-kick.
The visitors had a full week to prepare for this game, whereas Chelsea had only two days after Thursday night’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur but the majority inside the stadium saw their team open the scoring after just fifteen minutes. Former Manchester City youngster Cole Palmer gave Alphonse Areola no chance after Kurt Zouma failed to properly clear the ball.
Jarrod Bowen was unlucky not to respond immediately as his shot hit the bar. The Blues ripped into their opponents and doubled their advantage when home Captain Connor Gallagher beat Areola, thanks to another Zouma mistake.
West Ham were virtually out of sight with ten minutes of normal time to play before the break. A Chelsea corner caused problems for Moyes’ men, as Noni Madueke squeezed the ball over the line after Thiago Silva was given a free header at the back post.
The home side were nearly in for a fourth goal but remarkably, Gallagher hit the bar when he should have scored. However, the crossbar also came to their rescue at the other end as Bowen was again thwarted after his powerful left-foot shot had the Serbian international stopper seemingly beaten.
That being said, it was another disappointing half for those in the away end and they were just hoping that their team could keep the scoring down to a minimum going into the second-half.
Moyes was not happy with what he’d seen in the first forty five minutes and decided to make a change before the second-half got underway with James Ward-Prowse replacing Edson Álvarez.
The change didn’t have the impact that the Scotsman had been hoping for as Chelsea continued from where they had left off and added to their three goals after forty eight minutes when Madueke picked up Trevoh Chalobah’s pass to set up Jackson and there was no coming back for West Ham by this point.
The visitors then had a great chance to pull a goal back through Emerson Palmieri but the former Chelsea defender inexplicably sent it wide of the target.
Seconds later, Ward-Prowse attempted to continue the brief spell of pressure when he sent in a free-kick which worried Petrović but the midfielder missed the opportunity to score.
Moyes made a second substitution on seventy minutes, as Danny Ings took the place of Michail Antonio.
The afternoon didn’t seem like it would get any better for the Irons so the Scotsman made his third and final change seven minutes later when Aaron Cresswell came on for the ineffectual Lucas Paquetá.
Bowen and the crossbar were having their own duel here and it was the crossbar that eventually won, as the winger hit it for a third time.
Areola wasn’t at fault with any of the goals and he made three successive saves to stop the scoreline from getting even worse but, despite his best efforts, yet another goal went in. Another defensive error meant that Madueke was able to reach Moisés Caicedo’s cross and unselfishly set up Jackson, who had the easiest of finishes past the Frenchman.
Referee Andrew Madley disallowed the goal which was then checked by VAR for offside and it was eventually allowed, as Zouma was playing him onside.
That was the end of the agony for West Ham who stopped Chelsea from adding another in the five minutes of stoppage time that were added.
The East Londoners will be hoping to claim only their fourth win of 2024 when newly-promoted Luton Town are the last team to make the journey to Stratford on Saturday afternoon.