CHELSEA were without star man Cole Palmer for their trip to East London to take on West Ham, on a goal-laden night where ‘Braziliance’ was a recurring theme.
The England star was hauled out of the warm-up after ‘feeling something’, with Enzo Maresca confirming he didn’t want to risk the number ten, a gamble in itself that ended up a wise choice.
PAJoao Pedro and Pedro Neto ran the show against West Ham[/caption]
ReutersPedro scored his first Prem goal for Chelsea[/caption]
GettyNeto wreaked havoc at the London Stadium[/caption]
Things got worse before they got better for Chelsea, as they conceded an early screamer at the hands of Lucas Paqueta’s lethal left boot – something of a guided missile into the top right corner.
But the Blues were shortly in the driving seat, replying with three first-half goals – the first a Joao Pedro header following a corner, before the Brazilian turned provider with a perfect cross that Pedro Neto finished with aplomb.
More samba brilliance followed, as Palmer’s replacement in the starting XI, Estevao, combined excellently with Liam Delap before driving down the right and squaring the ball for Enzo Fernandez to finish.
In the second half, things went from bad to worse for West Ham, as unlikely scorers Moises Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah added Chelsea’s fourth and fifth goals to see the Blues run riot over the Hammers.
Here’s how SunSport Chelsea FC Reporter Lloyd Canfield rated the players…
ROBERT SANCHEZ – 6
Some will say he should have done better to stop Lucas Paqueta’s long-range blinder, but it seemed more of a fine finish than keeper mistake.
He did make a good save with 23 minutes to go to deny young Freddie Potts a first West Ham goal.
The Spaniard’s distribution was pretty good too, with a defence-splitting pass to Pedro Neto in the second half drawing a gasp from the crowd on a night where in truth, he wasn’t overly busy.
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MALO GUSTO – 7
Malo Gusto claimed he was going to be ‘like Neymar’ when he was told Chelsea would be playing in their new Nike Total 90 third kit tonight.
Perhaps Neymar was a bit far, but the Frenchman was much improved on last season, notably because he was able to overlap on the right-hand side.
Gusto was solid in defending when required to do so, and was very impressive in an all-action performance down the right.
TOSIN ADARABIOYO – 7
In the absence of Levi Colwill, the responsibility to start Chelsea’s attacks from the back with line-breaking passes will fall on the shoulders of Tosin.
He did that excellently tonight, as well as being a rock at the back from start to finish.
Tosin was a titan in the air against a physical Niclas Fullkrug in the first half, and hardly gave new-boy Callum Wilson a sniff in the second.
TREVOH CHALOBAH – 8
Cobham graduate Trevoh Chalobah grabbed a goal in the rout of West Ham, as the Hammers defence seemed to be forged of jelly rather than iron.
Chalobah was too important in defence, leading the team from the back and intercepting West Ham attacks when required.
MARC CUCURELLA – 8
Marc Cucurella is going to stake a claim to be the best left-back in the Premier League this season if he carries on in this vein.
He won possession for the Blues more times than any other player in the first half, and claimed an assist with a great flick on for Joao Pedro’s equaliser.
There was something N’Golo Kanté-esque about his performance tonight – if 70% of the earth is covered by water, the other 30% is covered by Marc Cucurella.
ENZO FERNANDEZ (C) – 8
Chelsea’s captain added their third goal, in what is becoming a textbook ‘box-crashing Enzo Fernandez’ finish.
After a disappointing showing in the opening game at home to Crystal Palace, the Argentine was back with a vengeance to his usual self, causing chaos for defences with his passing and ‘Lampardian’ late runs into the box.
He should’ve had a brace early in the second half, when Pedro Neto cut the ball back to him only for his effort to be side-footed over the crossbar.
MOISES CAICEDO – 8
Chelsea’s brilliant Ecuadorian got in on the goalscoring act on his 100th appearance for the club.
West Ham could not defend ANY crosses, and Moises Caicedo was a beneficiary of that, scrambling a shot in off the bar after a clanger by Mads Hermansen.
The all-action midfielder was his usual self defensively, though some will blame him for not closing down Paqueta, who opened the scoring.
He has scored just one goal in each of his previous four Premier League seasons, but will surely manage to at least double his usual tally this season.
ESTEVAO – 8
Being 18 and stepping into a Chelsea starting XI, to replace one of the best players in world football, at just 10 minutes’ notice, would be far too much pressure for most to handle – but not for the one Chelsea fans are christening ‘Big Steve’.
The Brazilian prince of the Kings Road endured a record-breaking night in East London, becoming the youngest player to record a Premier League assist at 18 years and 120 days old, in a masterclass in wing play.
It was some assist too, as he combined brilliantly with Liam Delap before racing down the right side and squaring the ball for Enzo Fernandez who couldn’t miss from a few yards out.
Couldn’t quite add a first Premier League goal to his exciting performance when he had the chance with around 20 minutes to go.
JOAO PEDRO – 9
On a night where ‘Braziliance’ was a recurring theme, it was Joao Pedro who showed plenty of it.
The man who inherited Cole Palmer’s sacred number 20 shirt delivered in Chelsea’s borderline raunchy new black third kit, firstly with a headed finish to get his side level, before his inch-perfect cross for Pedro Neto put the Blues ahead.
Moved into the number 9 role when Liam Delap was substituted, and pressed well to cause more and more problems for West Ham’s defence.
PEDRO NETO – 8
The floor of a Pedro Neto performance is lots of hard work down whichever wing he is chosen to play on, and energy going forward with not much end product.
But Pedro Neto tonight was almost touching his oh-so-high ceiling.
A constant threat down the wings, with dangerous weak-foot crosses into the middle and a side-footed volley to give his team the lead at a crucial moment, in which he showed the composure of a seasoned goal-scoring winger.
LIAM DELAP – 5
His pressing and determination caused West Ham defenders problems, but he lacked the end product that Joao Pedro showed as they compete for the number nine role in this side.
It remains to be seen this season whether it is Delap AND Pedro as opposed to Delap vs Pedro, but if tonight’s performance is anything to go by, there may well be space for both of them when Enzo Maresca is picking his teams going forward.
SUBS:
ANDREY SANTOS (LIAM DELAP, 62) – 4
Hasn’t been everything expected of him in a Chelsea shirt so far, and looks half the player he did at Strasbourg last season.
Will surely grow into his role here, and show the player he can become after being backed by Enzo Maresca.
JORREL HATO (MARC CUCURELLA, 69) – 5
Fairly unnoticeable after coming on, though he was solid defensively despite being hardly tested.
WESLEY FOFANA (TREVOH CHALOBAH, 69) – 5
Wesley Fofana was solid at the back for Chelsea on his return to Premier League action, but wasn’t much tested after his social media drama in the week.
REECE JAMES (MALO GUSTO, 69) – 5
It was a surprise not to see James in the starting XI, but he was good when he came on, helping to shore up the Chelsea defence and see out the game for the Blues.
JAMIE GITTENS (ESTEVAO, 77) – 5
Was benched after a poor showing against Crystal Palace, and not given much time to impact this game.
The brilliance of Estevao and Neto may well see him struggle to break back into the Chelsea starting XI now.
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