Chelsea’s enjoyable start to life under Liam Rosenior got a whole lot better when they completed a dramatic turnaround victory against London rivals West Ham.
It was a story of two halves for Rosenior’s men, with the manager learning very quickly the risk of rotating his winning side too heavily.
Joao Pedro and Marc Cucurella came off the bench to score, while Enzo Fernandez stepped up with the winner after surviving the flurry of substitutions.
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Chelsea player ratings vs West Ham
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Before the changes, Chelsea were dire. And there was no worse performer than Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentine frustrated Stamford Bridge with his performance before being taken off at the break.
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Gary Neville would love to have played against Alejandro Garnacho during Chelsea vs West Ham
Gary Neville has seen plenty of the winger from his time at Manchester United, but admitted he would love to have come up against the Chelsea man if he was playing today.
He said during commentary for Sky Sports: “He’s not confident. He keeps passing it and doing that. When you see him at his best, he goes directly at the full-back, but that’s not what we’re seeing in this first 20 minutes.
“His first touch is back all the time, and that’s a dream for a right-back. I’m in absolute dreamland, I’m going to be all over him like a rash.”
Garnacho was replaced at the break by Pedro, who went on to score and assist as his purple patch continues.
Just as Gary Neville was writing us off, we turned it around 🤫
Why so negative?
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Garnacho fails to impress as Rosenior gives another chance
Garnacho has actually been very impressive since Rosenior came in, although his performance against the Hammers did little to prove that.
Chelsea fans have been quick to call for Pedro Neto to be dropped, however today’s display in the first half proved what their wide options look like without him on the pitch.
Estevao Willian was not available for selection due to a personal matter, with the hope being that he may return from Brazil in time for Tuesday.
Despite Garnacho’s two goals against Arsenal in the first leg, it looks unlikely he will get a quick chance to build on that.
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