Joao Pedro, Neto, Enzo, Caicedo and Chalobah all on target in 5-1 London derby victory
Chelsea thrashed West Ham United 5-1 to earn their first victory of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign and pile more pressure on their former head coach Graham Potter.
The Blues lost talisman Cole Palmer from their starting XI when he limped out of their warm-up at London Stadium, and they fell behind to a spectacular sixth-minute strike from Lucas Paqueta, but their response was emphatic.
Joao Pedro scored and then supplied an assist for Pedro Neto as Chelsea flipped the contest on its head by the 23rd minute, and a tap-in from Enzo Fernandez (below) had them 3-1 up before half-time.
West Ham were booed off at the break and some poor set-piece defending led to them conceding another two goals before the hour mark as Moises Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah got in on the act.
The Hammers are bottom after two matches, while Chelsea are top with four points.
How the match unfolded
Having lost Palmer, Chelsea suffered a further blow when they backed off Paqueta, who unleashed a brilliant strike that flashed past Robert Sanchez and into the top-right corner.
But West Ham’s lead only lasted nine minutes until Marc Cucurella glanced Neto’s corner through to Joao Pedro for a close-range header.
Niclas Fullkrug had a drilled effort disallowed following a VAR review, with Jean-Clair Todibo found to be offside as he broke forward to cross and Chelsea edged in front soon after as Neto applied the finish to Joao Pedro’s pinpoint cross.
With West Ham’s confidence in tatters, Chelsea pulled further clear in the 34th minute. Liam Delap and Estevao combined before the latter’s centre was tapped in by Fernandez.
Chelsea went 4-1 up nine minutes into the second half when Mads Hermansen flapped at Fernandez’s corner, allowing Caicedo to prod home.
Just four minutes later, another set-piece delivery was taken out of Hermansen’s hands by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Joao Pedro nodded it down for Chalobah to finish, with Kyle Walker-Peters’ blocked effort being the closest West Ham went to reducing the deficit and restoring some pride.
No Palmer, no problem for five-star Chelsea
Chelsea’s supporters had every right to be concerned when they saw Palmer exit their warm-up early, to be replaced in the starting line-up by Estevao.
The Brazilian teenager was one of four new forwards to feature against Crystal Palace last week, alongside Joao Pedro, Delap and Jamie Gittens, but none made a major impact as Chelsea were held to a goalless draw.
Enzo Maresca may have feared another frustrating outing when Paqueta gave West Ham something to defend, but his new-look attack soon clicked.
Joao Pedro, who originally looked set to play from the left wing, was moved to a No 10 role and excelled.
He showed his physicality when shrugging off Wan-Bissaka for his goal, then his technical quality came to the fore as he paused, lifted his head and teed up Neto to make it 2-1.
Another assist followed for Joao Pedro after the break, while his compatriot Estevao did much of the hard work for Fernandez’s goal following some strong hold-up play from Delap.
Chelsea have been criticised for a perceived over-reliance on Palmer at times, with their form dropping off badly when he embarked on a goal drought in the second half of 2024/25.
But with their new arrivals already gelling, the Blues have a chance to build some momentum in two more London derbies, as they host Fulham and visit Brentford either side of the international break.
No magic wand for Potter
West Ham only won two Premier League matches between the end of February and the conclusion of the 2024/25 campaign, so if any team needed a fast start to the new season, it was the Hammers.
However, a damaging 3-0 defeat to newly-promoted Sunderland on the opening matchday caused co-chair Karren Brady to publicly outline the club’s support for Potter ahead of this meeting with his former employers.
West Ham started so well with Paqueta’s ferocious strike.
But that was a false dawn as Chelsea ruthlessly punished a series of defensive lapses from their hosts. Having been physically outmatched by Sunderland for two headed goals last Saturday, West Ham did not learn their lessons.
Three of Chelsea’s five goals came from corners, all of which were defended dismally. Wan-Bissaka failed to track Joao Pedro for the Blues’ leveller, while Hermansen was far too weak on the other two.
Just one hour into West Ham’s home campaign, many of their supporters were filtering out of London Stadium while the visiting Chelsea fans cheered their team’s every touch.
Potter needs to find a way to ensure West Ham’s slow start does not become an alarming slide.
They visit Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup on Tuesday before heading to Nottingham Forest for their next league fixture.
Club reports
West Ham report | Chelsea report
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Key facts
Lucas Paqueta is only the third player to score West Ham’s first goal of a Premier League campaign in two seasons in a row, after Paolo Di Canio (2000/01 and 2001/02) and Mark Noble (2009/10 and 2010/11).
West Ham have shipped eight goals across their first two matches of a top-flight campaign for the first time ever.
Under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea have picked up more points in Premier League London derbies since the start of last season than any other side (26 – P14 W7 D5 L2).
Estevao is the youngest player in Premier League history to assist a goal for Chelsea (18 years, 120 days).
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