Chelsea experienced a forgettable match against West Ham in the second round of the Premier League 2023/24. They were kicked more than people for more than 20 minutes but were completely helpless against the opponent. Even the expensive contract Moises Caicedo made a disastrous mistake that caused Chelsea to lose 1-3 in the end.
West Ham: Aguerd (7′), Antonio (53′), Paqueta (90’+5, pen)
Chelsea: Chukwuemeka (28′)
Red card: Aguerd (67′)
As a guest to West Ham, Chelsea played with the familiar 3-4-2-1 formation under coach Mauricio Pochettino. Expensive signing Moises Caicedo is on the bench. The central midfield pairing with Enzo Fernandez is Conor Gallagher. At the top, Nicolas Jackson continues to lead the attack. Supporting him are Carney Chukwuemeka and Raheem Sterling.
After the opening whistle, Chelsea quickly dominated the game. However, West Ham suddenly opened the scoring in the 7th minute. From the corner on the right, Nayef Aguerd bounced higher than Conor Gallagher and accurately headed home the net. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez stood still to die in this situation.
Receiving a goal, Chelsea turned to attack strongly. Many opportunities were created by the Blues and in the 28th minute, their efforts were rewarded with an equalizer by 19-year-old midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka.
Taking the mental advantage, Chelsea increased the pressure. Towards the end of the first half, Raheem Sterling brought home an 11-meter penalty for Chelsea with a mighty breakthrough. However, on the penalty spot, Fernandez failed to beat goalkeeper Alphonso Areola.
In the second half, Chelsea continued to push the offensive line up. However, when the effect was not yet available, the Blues had to receive bitter results from West Ham’s simple counter-attack. In the 53rd minute, receiving an excellent long pass from James Ward-Prowse, striker Michail Antonio handled it cleverly before hitting a decisive corner with his right foot to hit Chelsea to raise the score to 2-1 for West Ham.
When it was difficult, Chelsea was kicked again when Aguerd – the author of the opening goal – was disqualified in the 67th minute. Having the advantage of numbers, but the Blues played very stalemate, almost no any dangerous chances created by the away team. The most notable situation was the poor footwork of substitute Mykhailo Mudryk in the penalty area in the 85th minute, although Sterling’s cross was excellent.
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It all ended for Chelsea in the 5th minute of injury time when midfielder Lucas Paqueta successfully completed the 11-meter goal. Before that, it was Caicedo who caused harm to the home team when he cut down defender Emerson Palmieri in the penalty area. An unforgettable debut of the most expensive contract in English football history.
In the end, Chelsea lost 1-3 to West Ham in the second round of the Premier League 2023/24. A disappointing result for the Blues despite being overplayed in the last 20 minutes. This defeat makes Chelsea drop to 13th in the rankings with 1 point. In the third round, Chelsea will host Luton at home on August 26.
West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Aguerd, Zouma, Emerson, Ward-Prowse (Alvarez 81′), Soucek, Paqueta, Benrahma (Ogbonna 69′), Bowen, Antonio (Fornals 76′).
Chelsea: Sanchez, Disasi, Colwill, Silva, Gusto (Burstow 83′), Fernandez, Gallagher (Madueke 75′), Chilwell (Caicedo 61′), Sterling, Chukwuemeka (Mudryk 46′), Jackson.