Chelsea stormed to a 5–1 victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Friday, overturning an early setback to claim their first Premier League win of the season and move provisionally top of the table. Lucas Paqueta’s long-range strike in the sixth minute briefly had the hosts in front, but Enzo Maresca’s side replied ruthlessly. Joao Pedro headed in Marc Cucurella’s flick from a corner on 15 minutes for his first league goal since joining from Brighton, and eight minutes later the Brazilian set up Pedro Neto to make it 2–1. An incisive run from debutant Estevao allowed the 18-year-old to square for Enzo Fernandez, who tapped in Chelsea’s third before the break. Set-piece frailties finished West Ham after half-time as goalkeeper Mads Hermansen failed to deal with successive corners, leaving Moises Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah to add goals in the 54th and 58th minutes. Thousands of home supporters departed early, while a buoyant away contingent saluted a five-goal haul that came despite the late withdrawal of playmaker Cole Palmer with a muscle issue. Estevao, introduced to the starting XI moments before kick-off, became the youngest Chelsea player—at 18 years and 120 days—to register a Premier League assist. The defeat piles pressure on West Ham manager Graham Potter, whose side have conceded eight goals in their opening two fixtures following last week’s 3–0 loss at Sunderland.
"He tried in the warm-up but he felt something" Enzo Maresca was pleased to see his side score five goals against West Ham without talisman Cole Palmer 🔵 https://t.co/KMyCkqPGnP
"You can say what you want, whenever you want" Graham Potter answers a question about whether West Ham are in a relegation battle after heavy defeats in their opening two games ⚒️ https://t.co/7zoU2JOlLn
Chelsea thrash West Ham to pile pressure on former boss Potter https://t.co/iYnroGb9FH