THE NOTEBOOK: Moises Caicedo endures tough Chelsea debut as James Ward-Prowse shows West Ham were right to target him this summer to replace Declan Rice… with Lucas Paqueta doing his talking on the pitch
West Ham United picked up their first win of the Premier League season despite being reduced to ten men against Chelsea.
Goals from Nayef Aguerd, Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta saw the Hammers come away with all three points despite being a man down for the majority of the second half.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea know that they will have to improve and do so rapidly if they are to compete at the top end of the league this season.
It was a disappointing defeat for the Blues, who had high hopes going into the match after showing their fighting spirit against Liverpool last week.
Mail Sport’s Adrian Kajumba outlines some of the things you might have missed from the clash at the London Stadium.
West Ham produced a sensational performance to beat Chelsea 3-1 at the London Stadium
Michail Antonio scored his side’s second, while Nayef Aguerd and Lucas Paqueta also netted
Mauricio Pochettino tasted his first defeat since arriving as Chelsea boss this summer
Ward-Prowse’s seventh heaven
Seven on the back of his West Ham shirt and seven minutes needed for debutant James Ward-Prowse to make his first big contribution for his new club. Unsurprisingly, it came from a set-piece and Chelsea can’t say they weren’t warned.
An earlier corner had already caused panic and from his second, Nayef Aguerd headed West Ham into the lead. Ward-Prowse added a second assist to become the first Hammer to achieve that feat on their bow.
James Ward-Prowse showed his class as he netted two assists on his West Ham debut
Hammers still partying from last season’s glory
It might be a new season but the last one was very much still on West Ham minds. The celebrations following their Europa Conference League final victory over Fiorentina continued ahead of their first home game since the triumph.
The trophy was on display on a pitchside plinth and the highlights were re-run on the big screen with Jarrod Bowen’s winner sparking a particularly loud cheer. Last but not least was a tifo display in one of the stands with a section of supporters holding up silver cards to make out the shape of the trophy.
Chelsea’s flexible set-up a sign of things to come
Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino are going to be a fluid watch. On the ball, they are lining up in a back three but they drop into a back four without it.
The in-possession line-up saw Ben Chilwell and Malo Gusto hug the touchline as wing-backs, Conor Gallagher became their deepest midfielder while the rest created differing systems throughout. In defence, a 4-4-2 was Chelsea’s main set-up. They’ll hope their approach brings better results than it did here, though.
Chelsea are will be fluid under Mauricio Pochettino with Ben Chilwell’s role a prime example
Chelsea on the spot
After the departures of Jorginho and Kai Havertz, Chelsea have been looking for a new penalty taker.
The honour to start with fell to Enzo Fernandez and he should have been a good bet. He’d taken five penalties previously and scored them all. Of course, then, he saw his first for Chelsea saved by Alphonse Areola. The search may go on.
A tough start for Moises Caicedo
Moises Caicedo was booed when he entered the field just after the hour for his Chelsea debut. His crime? Seemingly his price tag, after his British-record £115million move.
It was a debut to forget for the Ecuadorian who conceded the penalty from which West Ham sealed their win in injury time.