Estevao impresses in place of Palmer as Chelsea thrash woeful West Ham to bounce back from opening day disappointment | OneFootball

Chelsea and their wealth of attacking talent bounced back from opening day disappointment by thrashing West Ham 5-1 at the London Stadium.

There were four goals scored in the first half, but it was West Ham who grabbed the first. They would have led twice too, but had a goal ruled out in the 17th minute for an offside.

The Blues did not have to play brilliantly to score five, and that is what will concern Hammers boss Graham Potter more than anything. West Ham gave away cheap goals throughout, and the whole backline was shaky.

It was a brilliant start for the home side when Lucas Paqueta scored a screamer after six minutes. Estevao, thrown into the starting line-up late on after Cole Palmer dropped out with an injury, relinquished possession on the right, no Chelsea players closed him down, and Paqueta was allowed to get a shot away. And it was some shot. He left Robert Sanchez with no chance.

After that it was a blue barrage however, and there were five different goalscorers for Chelsea. Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and then Trevoh Chalobah all bagged for Enzo Maresca’s side in what ended up being a rout, following their goalless draw with Crystal Palace last week.

Palmer pulled up with an injury and was replaced five minutes before kick-off by Estevao, who got a brilliant assist for Fernandez on debut. Fans had been clamouring to see him start, but they would not have wanted it to be in these circumstances.

Regardless, the 18-year-old has taken to English football like a duck to water. He was imperious in the 2-0 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen and again here, turning and dribbling past three players to put the ball on a plate for Fernandez in what was Chelsea’s third of the night.

It followed Joao Pedro’s equaliser as he continued his flying start to life at Chelsea, heading in from close range from a corner, before Pedro Neto made it 2-1.

It was also a particularly special night for Caicedo. The Colombian midfielder scored a goal to mark his 100th appearance for Chelsea. The goal came from a corner, and an awful mistake from Mads Hermansen.

The Danish keeper had a bad day out in West Ham’s 3-0 defeat to Sunderland, but he struggled again today and Potter may need to reintroduce Alphonse Areola for the Irons’ next game against Wolves.

Chalobah further exposed West Ham’s set-piece frailties with another goal from a corner.

Although the season is only two games in, West Ham and Potter already feel near crisis mode. Vice-chairman Karren Brady came out with a vote of support for Potter on talkSPORT after the defeat to Sunderland, but this defeat has ramped things up to a whole new level.

As for Chelsea, this win was expected, To have come away from the London Stadium without it would have piled pressure on Enzo Maresca too. They will have tougher tests ahead, and that is where proper judgements can be made. But this is certainly a very encouraging sign as the Blues look to take another step forward.