THE NOTEBOOK: Moises Caicedo endures tough Chelsea debut as James Ward-Prowse shows West Ham were right to target him this summer to replace Declan Rice… with Lucas Paqueta doing his talking on the pitch
West Ham United picked up their first win of the Premier League season despite being reduced to ten men against Chelsea.
Goals from Nayef Aguerd, Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta saw the Irons come away with all three points despite being a man down for the majority of the second half.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea know that they will have to improve and do so rapidly if they are to compete at the top end of the league this season.
It was a disappointing defeat for the Blues, who had high hopes going into the match after showing their fighting spirit against Liverpool last week.
Mail Sport’s Adrian Kajumba discusses the major talking points from the London Stadium.
Nayef Aguerd got West Ham off to a fine start, netting in the opening minutes
James Ward-Prowse added his second assist of the match as he played Michail Antonio in
Mauricio Pochettino has tasted his first defeat since arriving as Chelsea boss this summer
Lucas Paqueta shows his commitment
After it emerged he was at the centre of a betting scandal you might have expected Lucas Paqueta to keep a low profile. Not a chance, it turned out.
He remained in the thick of the action. He was booked for dissent in the first half after taking his complaints a little too far when a decision did not go his way and was then involved in a flashpoint with Conor Gallagher and his Chelsea teammates, chucking in a couple of theatrical falls for good measure.
And then he stepped up when West Ham were awarded a late penalty and sent Robert Sanchez the wrong way to score.
James Ward-Prowse proved David Moyes right
Seven on the back of his new West Ham shirt and just seven minutes needed for debutant James Ward-Prowse to make his first main contribution for his new club. Unsurprisingly it came from a set-piece and Chelsea can’t say they weren’t warned.
James Ward-Prowse showed his class as he netted two assists on his West Ham debut
An earlier corner had already caused a bit of panic and from his second Nayef Aguerd headed West Ham into the lead.
Ward-Prowse added a second assist to become the first Hammer to achieve that feat on their bow. Aguerd’s afternoon peaked with his goal as he was later sent off.
Hammers still partying from last season’s glory
It might be a new season but the last one was very much still on West Ham minds.
The celebrations following their Europa Conference League final victory over Fiorentina continued ahead of their first home game since the triumph.
The trophy was on display on a pitchside plinth and the highlights were re-run on the big screen with Jarrod Bowen’s winner sparking a particularly loud cheer.
Last but not least was a tifo display in one of the stands with a section of supporters holding up silver cards to make out the shape of the trophy.
Chelsea’s flexible set-up a sign of things to come
Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino are going to be a fluid watch. Predominantly, and particularly while they had Ben Chilwell on the pitch to aid their flexibility, on the ball they are lining up in a back three but when it is time to defend they dropped into a back four.
Ben Chilwell’s new role under Mauricio Pochettino aids Chelsea’s flexibility
The in possession lineup saw Ben Chilwell and Malo Gusto predominantly hug the touchline as wingbacks, Conor Gallagher become their deepest midfielder and the rest move fluidly further ahead creating differing systems throughout.
When defending, a 4-4-2 was Chelsea’s main setup of choice for most of the game. They’ll hope their approach brings better results than it did here though.
Chelsea on the spot
After the departures of Jorginho and Kai Havertz last season Chelsea have been left looking for a new penalty taker. The honour to start with fell to Enzo Fernandez against West Ham and he should have been a good bet. He’d taken five penalties previously and scored them all. Of course, then, he saw his first for Chelsea saved by Alphonse Areola. The search may continue.
A tough start for Moises Caicedo
Mosies Caicedo was booed when he entered the field just after the hour for his Chelsea debut. His crime? Seemingly his price tag following his British record £115m move from Brighton. It ended up being a debut to forget for the Ecuadorian who conceded the penalty from which West Ham sealed their win in injury time.