Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer fired Chelsea to victory over West Ham (Picture: Getty)
Nicolas Jackson scored a superb double as Chelsea swept past West Ham with a 3-0 victory to maintain their 100 per cent record on the road in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea had not won at the London Stadium since 2021 but it took the visitors just four minutes to find an opener through Nicolas Jackson, who played a neat one-two with Jadon Sancho before slotting the ball through Alphonse Areola’s legs with ease.
Julen Lopetegui’s Hammers were again caught napping in the 18th minute and deservedly punished, with an inspired Jackson finishing off a sweeping move to notch his second of the afternoon and sent the away end into raptures.
The visitors rode their luck as West Ham were denied a penalty before Mohammed Kudus had a goal disallowed for offside, but Cole Palmer put the game to bed with an emphatic finish from an angle just two minutes into the second half.
Substitute Joao Felix squandered two inviting opportunities to make it four but Enzo Maresca will be delighted with his side’s convincing performance in his second London derby as Chelsea manager.
The result sees Chelsea rise to second place behind reigning champions Manchester City, while West Ham remain in 14th spot behind Tottenham.
Robert Sanchez – 6
Sanchez will be delighted to come away from the derby with a clean sheet (Picture: Getty)
Looked comfortable between the sticks for the most part, though was rarely tested by Lopetegui’s misfiring Irons.
Got down well to keep out a driven Tomas Soucek strike just moments after the midfielder’s introduction and denied Jarrod Bowen with a strong right hand shortly after Palmer’s strike at the start of the second half.
Marc Cucurella – 7
Cucurella caused West Ham problems slotting into midfield (Picture: Getty)
Cucurella appears a player reborn on the back of a tremendous showing at Euro 2024 with Spain earlier this summer and the left-back once again shone for Maresca’s side in the one-sided derby.
Proved a thorn in West Ham’s side throughout, occasionally slotting into midfield through the match and denying the lively Kudus with an important block midway through the first half.
Levi Colwill – 7
Colwill is coming into his own at the heart of Chelsea’s defence (Picture: Getty)
There are signs of a strong centre-back partnership developing between Tosin Adarabioyo and Colwill.
The England defender positioned himself perfectly to head the ball away to safety shortly after Jackson’s second and produced a crucial clearance to deny Michail Antonio in the 58th minute.
Wesley Fofana – 5
There were signs of rustiness in Fofana’s performance (Picture: Getty)
There were signs of rustiness in Fofana’s performance and the defender was perhaps fortunate to escape unpunished after appearing to haul Crysencio Summerville down on the edge of the area on the half-hour mark.
Has had far better days in a Chelsea shirt but Maresca has shown that he is willing to be patient with the Frenchman given his injury woes over the last couple of seasons.
Tosin Adarabioyo – …read more
Source:: Metro
