Premier LeagueWest Ham United 0-3 Chelsea
Saturday, 21st September 2024
by Chris Wilkerson
An embarrassing West Ham performance was not punished quite nearly as badly as it could have been as Chelsea came to the London Stadium and walked away 3-0 winners. This is the first time West Ham have lost their opening three home fixtures.
Dismal, lacklustre and naive, The Hammers again found themselves easily exposed to the attacking pace of their opponents whenever they lost possession. Chelsea found the centre of the West Ham team far too easy to play through and made the home side tumble like a house of cards whenever one piece was moved out of position.With that, Julen Lopetegui became the first West Ham manager to start a season with three consecutive home defeats, in a calendar year where, so far, The Hammers have only once twice in the league at their own stadium.
The manager had made the changes that the support had wanted, with Paqueta and Summerville replacing Soucek and Antonio, which left Bowen leading the line.
An early shot for Kudus, right at Sanchez, was at least more signs of life than much of the first half against Fulham last weekend, but being a little more open and ambitious at home left the side vulnerable. Chelsea exploited that to take the lead after only four minutes.
Of all three Chelsea goals, this might have been the simplest. After a freekick was given in the Chelsea half, the West Ham players walked back into position four minutes into a game.
As real professional footballers, the Chelsea players were looking to get moving and play quickly. It was passed to Jackson down the left wing, and the Senegalese striker happily took it on and drove down the flank as the home side scrambled to catch him. They couldn't, and the striker had it as easy as it comes to just dribble down and then off the wing, into the box and one-on-one with Areola from a bit of an angle.
Jackson is still young and lacks consistency, but he was cool and calm as he poked the ball through the French goalkeeper's legs and into the back of the net to give his side an early lead. It was arguably his best 45 minutes in a Chelsea shirt.
Whilst we look for changes and differences with a new manager in the West Ham dugout. One is that this looks a team that has just come to play a nice game of football. The opposition not only stopping them, but trying to score goals of their own doesn't seem to insult them, rather more of an inconvenience.
You can go through this match and find many moments that could have been something. But that has been a lot of what we've seen of Lopetegui's West Ham in this short span of time he's had at the club. The change from Moyes appears to be more of the ball, more passes, longer moves, and less control, shots or quality chances.
As such, often they found themselves on the ball in promising areas, but consistently disappointed in what they did with it. Chelsea were not made to do anything in the way of real defending.
The away side settled into the game more and more, and seemed to realise rather soon that they could win this game at a bit of a canter.
Palmer should have doubled the lead after 12 minutes when Jackson again peeled wide to the left and found space. This time he finished his drive down the wing with a pass to Palmer, finding the England international right on the edge of the box, centre of goal, but his shot drifted wide of Areola's left post.
West Ham have tried something new in every game so far this season, and this time they started the game with Alvarez in a back three. It gave the two full backs licence to get forward, with Guido a shield in front of those three centre backs who could spread wide.
What Jackson did for the second goal was wonderful in its simplistic intelligence. With Alvarez a dogged and determined defender, the Mexican followed Jackson as the striker dropped deeper to get the ball.
Chelsea were recycling possession in midfield and defence, keeping the ball and waiting for something to open up. All Jackson had to do was drop in, lay off a pass and then turn, sprinting into the gap he had created behind him and his happy follower Alvarez.
Now the Mexican, one of too many players in the West Ham side who lack a burst of pace, was turning and running back towards his goal and failing miserably to catch the speed of Jackson.
With the full backs wide and Mavropanos continuing to be thwarted by his own troublesome brain, the gap had not been closed behind, and the pass was played into it as Jackson widened the space between him and the desperately retreating Alvarez.
He could never catch his man, and Jackson finished with aplomb, driving the ball into the bottom corner with the outside of his boot and ultimately finishing the game as a contest after just 18 minutes.
There were brief West Ham moments, a half chance for Bowen after good play in the box by Paqueta, and efforts by Kudus and Mavropanos as the half ended, but all The Hammers had to hold onto for 90 minutes was a penalty decision they didn't get.
It's a fascinating one to watch and decipher. For almost any football fan, it's a foul. It's a bit soft, a bit silly, but it's football, and it doesn't always need to be a big deal to be a clear foul. So, when Summerville went down in the box with his arm clearly being pulled by the defender behind him, everyone from fans to players was convinced a penalty was to be given.
It was simple football, the winger laying off on the edge of the box and continuing his run into it, looking for the return. Instead, his arm was clearly pulled back behind him, and there was no surprise in seeing him go down.
The inevitable was surely a penalty, but referee Sam Barrott disagreed. When the ball went out of play, the VAR officials only confirmed his decision, describing the contact as fleeting. Many fouls are fleeting contact, yet we know that even being slightly impeded is still going to make a difference, and this seemed like one of those refereeing decisions you get early in the season, when referees are still sticking strictly to new or adapted rulings by the authorities.
The most important thing to remember is that this was all West Ham had to show for this fifth Premier League fixture of the season. Kudus did score an offside goal, but it was 2-0 at half time and Chelsea had never got out of second gear.
So bad it was, the manager was forced into a first-half substitution, with Rodriguez removed for Tomas Soucek as the manager looked to offer more options in forward areas and do something to change how badly his team were playing. Having been forced to make a double change at half-time last week, questions will be asked about how well this manager knows his players.
And that is the thing amongst it all. This is five games, a new manager and a much-changed squad. But this was another performance where Lopetegui's side looked unfit for Premier League football.
And that's not just that they're looking physically short of what's required to survive, let alone thrive in English football. They lacked intensity in every area, with a defence too easy to play through, around and with. A midfield that can keep possession, but can't disrupt it or create with it. And a forward line that, after years of complaints about Moyes's lack of attacking blueprint, seems to still be set up to create independently and rely on moments of magic.
It really couldn't have got much worse, but after going into the break 2-0 down, West Ham wasted no time in finding new depths.
80 seconds into the half, Palmer made it three. This time, a counter from the edge of the box cut through West Ham in an instant. Soucek lost his challenge in the Chelsea half, and that was where the resistance ended.
Three in blue flew forward, and three passes from their own box, the ball was flying towards the back of the West Ham net.
Jackson was the driving force, flying through the West Ham half and laying off perfectly for Palmer as the attacking midfielder bent his run to loop around to the left side of his striker and the West Ham box. With the ball in front of him, Palmer placed it high to Areola's left side, glancing in perfectly off the inside of the post to make it 3-0.
Errors both individual and as a team structure were exposed in brutal and breathtaking fashion. Why was it so easy to break? Why did Mavropanos dive in at Jackson, and fail to achieve anything? And why does this goal feel so reminiscent of goals conceded by Bilic and Pellegrini's sides at the London Stadium? Once again, there is more to this than individuals not being good enough.
There is very little else to report of a game that was basically over. As in the first half, as in swathes of the games against Fulham and Aston Villa, this is a side too easy to play against when they're in possession of the ball.
Antonio and Soler replaced Summerville and Alvarez as the manager looked for some sort of solution. At the very least, these were minutes into rusty player's legs.
Soler is close to being the last dice for Lopetegui to roll. So bad has been the midfield so far in his tenure, fans are looking at what Soler is known for and starting to hope he's the missing piece that makes everything else work.
Bowen had a shot from an angle comfortably saved, debutant substitute Andy Irving shot harmlessly from range, Antonio flicked a ball from behind him close to goal, but nothing remotely threatening happened. It was Chelsea who could have scored more.
The most embarrassing of those occasions came from a West Ham corner. It wasn't even a quick break, but once Emerson lost a challenge 10 yards outside the Chelsea box, suddenly it was Wan-Bissaka alone to defend against the flying figures of Madueke, Palmer and Jackson. Thankfully for The Hammers, Madueke took on a greedy shot when others were free for an easy finish.
There was a wonderful save by Areola with 15 minutes left, thwarting Nkunku after the midfielder should have scored with his head from six yards out, but as fans flooded out, the end of this game came mercifully for West Ham fans who have started to wonder whether the new world is quite what it was made out to be.
Manager Rating
Julen Lopetegui 3/10: It's an awful display from the manager taken just alone. But if you consider the context of the last few games, this clear problems that have developed in such a short amount of time, it was a scary game. Worrying, worrying signs for this tenure.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Chelsea match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Alphonse AreolaOne wonderful save aside, he was easily beaten on three occasions. There wasn't much he could do, but he didn't do it.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
By no means anywhere near the worst offender in this team, and close to Kudus as the only ones who seemed to have their own personal standards. But he's not really a wing back, and once Chelsea worked out our pressing structure, he was left playing as a wing back who didn't press high.
Emerson Palmieri
As a player, he's very good at the neat and tidy. But does he contribute enough that makes a difference?
Konstantinos Mavropanos
He's got it all but a brain.
Max Kilman
Whilst lacking the blame others deserve from the goals, where was the commanding centre back? Where is the player seeing what's happening and plugging gaps? Alvarez gets turned and nobody reacts. It's rudderless.
Edson Alvarez
He's not a centre back, and if he's going to be, he either needs to be a desperation move who plays a very limited role, or it needs to be in a system where he can move. One bad movement should not have opened up the goal.
Guido Rodríguez
Looked lost, a man playing a different game in a different team.
Lucas Paqueta
It has become very popular to bash Lucas Paqueta, but he's playing in a team where nobody else has a hint of imagination in their passing. Kilman is a better passer than any of the other midfielders, although Soler could prove that wrong.
Mohamed Kudus
He tried more than the others, and gets an extra point for looking like he might be able to force something alone.
Crysencio Summerville
Looked eager and should have won a penalty, but this was not a game that made him look capable of the step from Championship to Premier League.
Jarrod Bowen
A couple very difficult chances missed probably still puts him ahead of Antonio in striker performance this season, but maybe it's not the individual to blame?
Substitutes
Tomas Soucek(Replaced Rodriguez, 37) Did more work defensively than the others, and kept the ball well. But was relatively ineffective.
Michail Antonio
(Replaced Summerville, 53) Made absolutely no difference.
Carlos Soler
(Replaced Alvarez, 53) Moving from Paris to London sounds glamorous, but moving from PSG to West Ham is likely a more chastening experience.
Aaron Cresswell
(Replaced Emerson, 72) Near, tidy, fine enough.
Andy Irving
(Replaced Paqueta, 72) Kept the ball, looked eager, tried a couple shots. Arguably West Ham's man of the match.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Emerson Palmieri, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodríguez, Lucas Paqueta, Mohamed Kudus, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen.Goals: None.
Booked: None booked. .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Chelsea: Sanchez, Fofana (Disasi 57), Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez (Dewsbury-Hall 84), Caicedo, Madueke, Sancho (Neto 57), Palmer (Felix 64), Jackson (Nkunku 64).
Subs not used: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Mudryk, Veiga.
Goals: Jackson (4, 18), Palmer (47).
Booked: Fofana, Cucurella.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Sam Barrott.
Attendance: 62,473.
Man of the Match: Andy Irving.