Chelsea's Estevao reality check, Cole Palmer mood and brutal Fofana attempt

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It's safe to say that Chelsea were on fire against West Ham. For most of the match, at least.

The Blues went behind after five minutes at the London Stadium thanks to Lucas Paqueta, who scored with a rocket from long distance - though there were questions asked of Robert Sanchez for his efforts at stopping the shot.

After equalising through Joao Pedro from a corner, the Blues were behind again - but this time Niclas Fullkrug's goal was ruled out for an offside in the build-up.

After riding their luck somewhat in the opening stages, it was all business from Enzo Maresca's squad from thereon, with Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto in fine form in attack, with impressive displays from Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo as usual in midfield.

But what other moments stood out for the Blues? football.london takes a look below...

Estevao's rough with the smooth

Estevao Willian will rightly take the plaudits for a thrilling run which brought about Chelsea's third goal of the night, a tap-in for Enzo Fernandez.

But it was not all smooth sailing for the young star - and it shouldn't be expected of him, either. The youngster became Chelsea's youngest-ever player to make a Premier League assist with that set-up for his captain on the night, underlining just how new he is to this level.

And unfortunately, it did show on a couple of occasions. Had Fullkrug's goal not been chalked off for offside, we could well be speaking differently about the outcome of the game. As it was, West Ham did not go 2-1 up, and Chelsea instead put their foot on the accelerator to speed ahead.

Before that, Estevao gave the ball away with an attempted flick, leading directly to the opener for countryman Lucas Paqueta. While he wasn't solely to blame, with questions asked of Robert Sanchez, he did take a portion of the blame. And he did it again, too, later in the game. Almost a carbon copy, an attempted flick to find a teammate which lead to a West Ham counterattack.

His last real action before being subbed was to squander an opportunity, taking too long on the ball when an early shot surely had a chance at getting his first competitive goal for the club. It was something Maresca made a point of mentioning after the game.

This is not to chastise him for inconsistencies in his performance, but a reminder that patience will be required both from his teammates and from fans when it comes to the young Brazilian.

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Mardy Cole Palmer

It's only natural to be in a bit of a mood after receiving some bad news. And being told you can't do the thing you love? Not a great start to a Friday evening.

So it was understandable that Cole Palmer wasn't in the best of moods when he left the warm-up early after the decision was made that he would sit out of the second Premier League game of the season.

The England international re-emerged from the changing room in a coat with the hood up to take his place on the bench, with frustration scrawled across his face. For his sake, we hope he's not confined to the stands for too long.

Fofana's new role? No.

Chelsea have a lot of options when it comes to free-kick takers at the moment. Palmer has already shown his deadly accuracy, while there seems to be a new challenger in the form of Estevao, who took on set-piece duty in the pre-season win against Bayer Leverkusen. Even Fernandez has scored a peach during his time at Stamford Bridge.

However, one man who looks unlikely to be moving up the list of preferred takers any time soon is Wesley Fofana. During the warm-ups ahead of the game at the London Stadium, the French defender lined up an effort from range.

However, he absolutely ballooned his effort over the bar - almost comically so - landing the ball deep in the crowd behind the goal. It's safe to say that Palmer and Estevao's roles in the set-piece roster are safe for now.

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