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Chelsea underlined its Premier League title credentials on Friday with a superb showing against a hapless West Ham United at the London Stadium.
Much of the talk surrounding the Blues this summer has revolved around whether they are ready to challenge Liverpool for the top spot, especially following a summer where the club was technically crowned world champions. Therefore, there was extreme disappointment at Stamford Bridge last Sunday when Enzo Maresca’s side drew the opening match of the campaign 0-0 against Crystal Palace.
On another day, Chelsea could have had a very different result, though. It registered 19 shots against the Eagles, but five days later, with seven fewer shots, it managed to net five times.
Despite that, the trip to West Ham had an ominous start after Cole Palmer was forced to drop out of the starting XI due to an injury sustained in the warm-up, while the Hammers netted within six minutes via a sublime strike from Lucas Paqueta.
Joao Pedro quickly restored parity when he nodded in from a well-worked set-piece routine, before Pedro Neto capitalized from some shoddy West Ham defending as he tapped in an excellent Pedro back-post cross at the back post.
In between, West Ham saw a goal ruled out for offside when Jean-Clair Todibo strayed beyond the last defender before firing in a cross that was ultimately converted by Niclas Fullkrug.
That seemed to drain West Ham of belief. A timidness soon afflicted its display, as Graham Potter’s side struggled to deal with Chelsea’s rapid attacks. Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caideco were outstanding in the middle, while the direct running of Neto and Estevao proved too much for the hosts to handle.
The latter, who replaced Palmer in the starting line-up, set up a third Chelsea goal before the break as he broke down the line and picked out Fernandez for a simple finish. Cue boos from the dejected West Ham supporters, who last week saw their side ship lose 3-0 to newly promoted Sunderland.
If anything, Friday’s display was worse, as Chelsea grabbed two more goals in the second period to make it 5-1. Both were netted via corners with Caicedo poking in after Mads Hermansen failed to deal with a cross into the box, before Trevoh Chalobah converted after a goalmouth scramble just before the hour mark.
It could have been worse had Chelsea not taken its foot off the gas in the latter stages, while utilizing a full roster of substitutes impacted the team’s rhythm. The few West Ham fans who remained to the end were relieved.
But Friday’s match was as much about the Hammers’ shortcomings as it was Chelsea flexing its muscles.
It may only be the second game of the campaign, but this was a statement performance. Chelsea's speed at moving the ball, its ability to stifle West Ham and create repeated big chances, are early signs that it may be ready to compete at the top of the table this term.
With Manchester City and Arsenal also in action on Saturday, by the time Liverpool faces Newcastle United on Monday, the champions will already have an idea of how their challengers are shaping up in the early weeks of the season.
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