Chelsea continues to commit the same errors despite spending over £1 billion in less than a year. A team full of talented young players suffered their first loss under Mauricio Pochettino despite dominating for several weeks at the London Stadium and playing attractive football. A brutal and resilient West Ham further demonstrated that life beneath David Moyes is far from boring.
Lucas Paquetá’s defence of the ball deep on the left and taunting of Chelsea with his flicks and trickery brought about the unlikely outcome of a fierce battle. The news that the Football Association is looking into West Ham’s No. 10 for possible betting violations dispelled concerns about his mental health and demonstrated why Manchester City wanted to sign him. He also demonstrated why he’d been a target for West Ham. Paquetá was too far away for Moisés Caicedo to approach.
This performance showed that West Ham are equally dominant-
After giving up the penalty that Paquetá converted to make it 3-1 in the last seconds of extra time, Caicedo’s debut was one to forget. When Michail Antonio restored West Ham’s lead at the opening of the second half to punish Axel Disasi, Chelsea’s £115 million addition, who had come off the bench with his new team in difficulty, had no effect. Even though Pochettino saw some benefits from all the upheaval at Chelsea, the team still hasn’t gelled despite all the money.
It’s possible that this is what caused Chelsea to falter following Antonio’s goal, providing little in the final third even after West Ham’s center-back Nayef Aguerd had a second caution with 23 minutes remaining, dropping the team to 10 men. Because James Ward-Prowse filled the gap left by Declan Rice’s departure and distinguished himself on his debut with two excellent assists, West Ham could take pride in their newly arrived midfielder James Ward-Prowse outperforming Caicedo.
Ward Prowse once again with his masterclass set-pieces-
It didn’t take long for Ward-Prowse to demonstrate why Moyes battled so hard to recruit him, claiming he had no question about starting Paquetá. When West Ham added Ward-Prowse to their roster of set-piece specialists, it almost seemed unjust, and Chelsea were uneasy. They avoided Tomas Soucek’s second corner attempt from Ward-Prowse after Robert Sanchez blocked the previous one. As Aguerd sped by Sanchez, Conor Gallagher was unable to even begin to move.
When Chelsea was trying to score a last-minute equaliser, Mudryk had one opportunity, but his volley nearly went out for a throw. Pochettino will undoubtedly see that there was much more equilibrium prior to the Ukrainian coming in to replace the injured Chukwuemeka. Enzo Fernández soon posed a threat with a superb ball that reached Nicolas Jackson, who was looking for a penalty after being tripped by Alphonse Areola during the first half as Chelsea attacked quickly.
Jackson had previously been called for being offside, which was a relief for West Ham, but Aguerd and Kurt Zouma were concerned about the striker. Jackson, who has to be more methodical, moved when Chelsea pushed.
One man down West Ham showed determination throughout the Derby-
Chukwuemeka scored the equaliser after Zouma’s poor clearing allowed it to fall to him. Bypassing Soucek, the 19-year-old slammed home his maiden goal. When Soucek struck Raheem Sterling, the atmosphere changed, and Chelsea should have been in the lead. However, Fernández’s poor technique led Areola to save the Argentine’s penalty.
Paquetá struck the woodwork as West Ham attempted to take advantage of Fernández’s carelessness, and West Ham came out stronger in the second half. When Sad Benrahma was lost by Malo Gusto, who was filling in at right-back for the injured Reece James, they threatened. Disasi then released Ward-Prowse with a loose ball, allowing Antonio to push Levi Colwill aside and sprint through Sanchez from 20 yards away.
Pochettino turned to Caicedo just recently, and when Aguerd left, things took a new turn. But Moyes merely stiffened his defence, sent on Angelo Ogbonna, and West Ham closed it down in response to being down to 10 men. After entering the game, Noni Madueke attacked with a deflected shot, but Chelsea was at a loss for words, and Paquetá came to life. Deep into the extra time, Caicedo surged in after the Brazilian’s backheel connected with Emerson Palmieri. Paquetá was given the task of eliminating Chelsea, leaving Pochettino to wait for his first victory of the year.
