Chelsea cruised to victory against West Ham United – with the Blues coming out 5-0 victors against the Irons at Stamford Bridge.
Just the one change from the Blues side that beat Tottenham with Thiago Silva coming in for Alfie Gilchrist. And it was Chelsea who started off the better.
Cole Palmer opened the scoring on 15 minutes with a fine finish after a positive start from the hosts. It was 2-0 around 15 minutes later when Conor Gallagher’s superb volley left Alphonse Areola with no chance in the Hammers’ goal.
Moments after that, it was soon 3-0 to the dominant Blues. Noni Madueke headed in from close range after a towering header from Silva to set the winger up.
Just a few minutes into the second-half, it was four for Chelsea. Nicolas Jackson tapped the ball into an empty net after an unselfish assist from Madueke, who broke through the West Ham defence.
Jackson then grabbed his second goal of the game to make it 5-0 with just over 10 minutes to go to wrap up a dominant Chelsea performance. That is how it remained at Stamford Bridge. Below, Bobby Vincent rates each of the Chelsea players that were on the pitch in SW6.
Djordje Petrovic – 6
Petrovic does well in the second-half to deny James Ward-Prowse from a free-kick. But apart from that, the Serbian goalkeeper was rarely called into action.
Trevoh Chalobah – 7
Chalobah was being used at right-back this afternoon. Perhaps to deal with West Ham’s power in the air. And the 24-year-old was dominant all game-long. A fantastic ball to find Madueke for Jackson’s goal.
Thiago Silva – 7
Silva was exceptional in his return to the Chelsea team. Dominant at the back and a threat from attacking set-pieces, illustrated by his big helping hand in Madueke’s goal in the first-half.
Benoit Badiashile – 7
Badiashile’s resurgence continues. Once again, the French defender was brilliant for the Blues. Powerful, committed and composed in possession – the sort of Badiashile we saw last season.
Marc Cucurella – 7
Cucurella’s great form continues. Another top performance from the Spaniard in a role that is becoming more familiar to him with each passing game.
Moises Caicedo – 8
Caicedo has been Chelsea’s most consistent player of late and that remained the case against the Hammers. The Ecuadorian’s aggression has increased so much in recent weeks and the timing of his interceptions and tackles have drastically improved. Another brilliant display.
Conor Gallagher – 8
Gallagher hit a world-class volley into the bottom corner on 30 minutes to extend Chelsea’s lead. Another fine performance from the stand-in captain, whose form has been exceptional recently.
Noni Madueke – 9
Madueke does really well for Palmer’s opening goal. He remains a threat on the right wing. West Ham could not deal with him. Scores a really rare header in the first-half – exactly what he deserved. His assist for Jackson’s goal shows how much he has matured in recent games. Tremendous.
Cole Palmer – 7.5
Palmer opened the scoring early on with a powerful left-footed finish into the bottom corner for his 21st league goal of the season. Constantly trying to make things happen for the Blues. He looked back to his best today.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 6
Considering how dominant Chelsea were all afternoon, Mudryk would have wanted to get involved more. Some nice moments but all of the play seemed to go down Chelsea’s right-hand side.
Nicolas Jackson – 9
Jackson could not get into positions to have any real clear-cut opportunities in the first-half. But at the start of the second period, he had the easiest goal he will ever score. His 12th of the season in the Premier League – and it was soon 13. After being played through by Caicedo, Jackson stayed calm and composed to slot the ball into the bottom corner.
Substitutes
Christopher Nkunku – N/A
Great to see him back.
Cesare Casadei – N/A
Some more minutes.
Axel Disasi – N/A
Solid in his brief cameo.
Malo Gusto – N/A
Chelsea fans will be buzzing to see him back.
Alfie Gilchrist – N/A
Was on the pitch for a matter of minutes. Not even sure if he touched the ball, to be honest.
