Chelsea fires five past West Ham without reply
Chelsea claimed another big win at Stamford Bridge as it swatted aside West Ham United 5-0 to further boost Blues European hopes.
In the hosts’ second London Derby of the week, Cole Palmer was joined on the scoresheet by Noni Madueke, Connor Gallagher, and Nicolas Jackson, who netted a double.
Palmer’s 15th-minute opener, Gallagher’s volley and Madueke’s header put Chelsea in complete control by the interval, with Jackson’s second half brace providing the icing on the cake.
The victory lifts Chelsea up to seventh, above Manchester United, which faces Crystal Palace on Tuesday (AEST), while the out-of-form Hammers remain in ninth, with their chances of European qualification all but over.
West Ham troubled Djordje Petrovic with a direct Jarrod Bowen corner early on. Caught unsighted, the Serbian had to palm away.
Yet Chelsea had the lead when Palmer was on hand to score his 21st goal of the season after Jackson’s cross had ricocheted off former Blues defender Kurt Zouma.
Bowen struck the crossbar with a fierce header, but Chelsea doubled their lead on the half-hour, Zouma’s block falling kindly for Gallagher, who thundered in on the volley.
It was 3-0 just six minutes later thanks to Madueke, who was on hand on to nod in from Thiago Silva’s flick on.
Gallagher and Bowen exchanged efforts off the crossbar before the interval, after which Chelsea grabbed its fourth when Madueke turned provider for Jackson to tap home.
Bowen struck the crossbar for a third time in the 79th minute, yet Chelsea was soon celebrating again as Jackson broke away and found the bottom-right corner. Although it was initially disallowed for offside, the goal was awarded after a VAR review, as the Blues capped off a dominant performance to move into their highest league position of the season.
Chelsea has now scored 16 goals in its past four home games, and there is clearly now some cohesion to the attacking unit, especially at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, its home record is now 10 wins, four draws, and four losses in 18 Premier League contests.
Palmer was typically brilliant. He has now scored or assisted against 14 different Premier League opponents this season for Chelsea.
He became just the seventh player to have scored or assisted against 14 different teams in a Premier League season for the Blues, most recently Eden Hazard in 2018-2019 (15).
But Chelsea shared the load against West Ham, with Madueke and Jackson both ending the day having scored and assisted, so the pressure is not all on Palmer, at least.
West Ham boss David Moyes, meanwhile, has never won an away Premier League match against Chelsea, now failing with his 19th attempt (drawn seven and lost 12).
The only instance of a manager taking charge of as many matches at a venue without winning is Moyes himself at Anfield (19 games).
Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino is the 11th different Blues boss Moyes has lost to at Stamford Bridge during his 22 years as a Premier League manager across spells with Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham.
It does look like a sour ending for Moyes at West Ham. He is soon out of contract and both Ruben Amorim and Julen Lopetegui have been heavily linked as replacements.
