Is Nico Jackson Europe’s most underrated forward? West Ham 3-0 Chelsea | OneFootball

Nicolas Jackson condemned West Ham to an unwanted piece of history as Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners at the London Stadium this afternoon.

Under-pressure head coach Julen Lopetegui has overseen three successive home defeats to start a league campaign, something the club has never experienced.

Brought in to succeed David Moyes this summer and inject a new and exciting playing style, it’s been anything but, though it was not implementing a dynamic playing style that put them on the back foot.

A simple case of not being switched on saw Jackson put the Blues in front. He was alert following a free kick, and in doing so, his effort timed at 3:17 goes down as Chelsea’s earliest in a Premier League London derby since Daniel Sturridge against QPR in April 2012 (45 seconds).

It’s not a Lopetegui problem, as West Ham has conceded five goals in the opening five minutes of Premier League games in 2024, at least three more than any other side. Furthermore, Jadon Sancho — who set up Jackson — has assisted in each of his three league games (two for Chelsea, one for Borussia Dortmund); it’s his longest such run in Europe’s big five leagues since February 2020 (a run of four).

From a set piece to open play, Jackson doubled Chelsea’s lead: a brilliantly worked goal that saw the Senegalese forward chase down a Moisés Caicedo forward pass. Again, this is the earliest Chelsea have been two goals ahead in a Premier League away game since April 2022 against Southampton (16th minute).

Enzo Maresca — who becomes just the eighth manager in Premier League history to win each of his first three away games in the competition, and is the first to do so since Pep Guardiola in September 2016 — might have been forgiven for having a grin on his face. “For me, in this moment, Nicolas is our striker, I don’t have any doubt,” the Chelsea boss said at his pre-match press conference ahead of today’s game.

“Because of the way he is working day by day and the way he is working on the ball and off the ball. I think against City he was very good, Wolves away he scored and he gave an assist. Against Palace he was fighting until the end. At Bournemouth again he did well, had two or three chances he missed, but sometimes if you miss chances it doesn’t mean you’re not playing well.

“In this moment, we are very happy with Nicolas. In terms of numbers, last season and this season, it’s already important numbers.”

West Ham vs Chelsea player ratings

We used Twenty3 Sport’s Discovery Tool to assign each player a percentage score. Each player’s statistics are compared to the average output of their respective position. We also weighted each statistic from 1 to 5 to highlight the most important aspects of their respective position style, with five being the most important.

West Ham

Chelsea

He’s not wrong. Across Europe’s top five leagues, only Erling Haaland (15) has more goals than Nico Jackson (8) since May, a turnaround from a year ago when the former Villarreal man was much-maligned, albeit not entirely his fault.

If not for sustaining an injury during pre-season, Christopher Nkunku would have led Chelsea’s attack. This forced head coach Mauricio Pochettino to deploy Jackson as the club’s number nine when he was unprepared.

He eventually turned it around — finishing with 14 goals and five assists to cap off a debut season — and following the break, Jackson turned provider, creating Chelsea’s third, which Cole Palmer converted. Indeed, since the start of 2023/24, Jackson and Palmer have combined for 10 Premier League goals, at least two more than any other duo.

Despite Nkunku’s presence and Chelsea’s continual search for a striker, Jackson is now firmly in possession of the centre-forward spot. And it will take a significant downturn, which doesn’t seem likely, for him to concede that position.

Chaos defined Chelsea last season, but they finally seem to be in calmer waters. Palmer carried the load last term, but in Jackson, he has a partner in crime, and in turn, both can make the Blues viable top-four contenders.

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