Chelsea bounced back gloriously after dropping points against Crystal Palace last weekend. The Blues faced a West Ham team that was on the ropes and devoid of any confidence and put them to the sword.
This was a breathtaking and flawless performance from the 10th minute of the game onwards. The Blues found themselves behind courtesy of a superb strike by Lucas Paqueta. However, they put this behind them and found their element immediately after starting off the match on the back foot.
Chelsea are very fluid and interchangeable offensively
The stunning 3-0 win against PSG in the Club World Cup final gave the Chelsea fans a taste of how effective and ruthless the Blues' attack can be. They then carried on the attacking rhythm in pre-season, and a lot of players were in their element.
Although that came to a pause last week against Crystal Palace, which made a certain section of the fanbase doubtful heading into the game against the Hammers. However, the Blues put any doubt that crept in to bed today after thrashing their London rivals.
The hosts were very amateur and vulnerable defensively, and that can’t be swept under the carpet.
However, just because Graham Potter’s side were very open and totally out of their depth defensively, it doesn’t mean that players such as Pedro Neto, Estevao, and Joao Pedro do not deserve to get their flowers and a lot of credit in the bank.
They all rose to the occasion and took full advantage of the space and time that the London Stadium outfit gave them.
Those three players in particular were putting the West Ham full-backs and defenders on the back foot, and they were a handful to deal with.
The cherry on the cake is that off the ball, they pressed their opponents like a rash and didn’t give them any space or time to breathe. As a result, this led to the hosts booting the ball up the pitch and constantly turning over possession.
The 18-year-old made a sluggish mistake by losing the ball directly in midfield after trying to flick the ball forward, which led to the Hammers getting their noses in front.
For many young players, making a “huge” mistake will lead to their confidence taking a gigantic hit, and they could get anxious for the rest of the game.
However, in this instance, the former Palmeiras attacker put that mistake behind him and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. This speaks volumes about his attitude, mentality, and character.
Estevao grew into the game after a rough start, and he displayed his individual brilliance in front of the whole country.
The attacker was dribbling past players like they were not there, he constantly kept finding spaces, whether that was in the half pocket/ middle of the pitch or on the right wing, and he was always putting the 2023 Conference League Champions under the cosh.
His brilliant assist to set up Enzo Fernandez for Chelsea’s third goal summarizes just how the youngster’s confidence is at this current moment. Estevao is playing with no fear and is fully grasping his opportunity.
It is even more impressive when taking into account that Estevao was not named in the starting line-up. The reason why the versatile attacking player started the game is that Cole Palmer suffered a setback during the warm-ups.
The future is very bright for the 18-year-old. There is a reason why he is in the media limelight, and he has started off his Chelsea career like a bat out of hell. The youngster has the ability to reach his very high potential, and he is on fire currently.
Tosin is very crucial to the way Chelsea build out from the back
Enzo Maresaca’s side faced plenty of criticism after their centre-backs Josh Acheampong and Trevoh Chalobah struggled to play passes through the lines against Crystal Palace last weekend.
With Tosin returning, the difference regarding the way Chelsea builds out from the back was night and day. It also has to be taken into account that West Ham are a much inferior side compared to Crystal Palace, but despite that, Chelsea’s passing out from the back was a lot more crisp today.
Enzo Maresca has consistently emphasised in his press conferences that Tosin and Levi Colwill are the two players in the Chelsea defence who are comfortable dictating the game from the central centre-back position.
Tosin fit in like a glove there, and he made it look effortless. The weight of passes and the composure that the former Fulham centre-back had while being in possession were something to behold.
It wasn’t just his passes from the back that caught the Chelsea fans’ eyes. He was tasked with dealing with one of the strongest and most physical strikers in the Premier League in Niclas Fullkrug.
The centre back passed the test with flying colours and came out as the clear winner in that individual battle. West Ham were constantly aiming to find their target man, but the experienced centre back didn’t allow the German international to leave his mark on the game.
After watching the way he played as well as last season, it is blatantly clear to see why the 45-year-old manager is a massive admirer and why he has a lot of trust in the 27-year-old.
It’s Moises Caicedo’s world, and we are just living in it
This was the 100th match in a Chelsea shirt for the Ecuadorian international. His first game whilst wearing the famous Blue shirt was ironically against West Ham on the 20th August 2023.
That day, he gave a penalty away after bringing down the former Chelsea left back Emerson on the edge of the box. Lucas Paqueta went on to score in the 95th minute to seal a 3-1 win for the Hammers. Everyone wrote Caicedo off after that moment.
However, the way that he has turned his form around since then has been nothing short of remarkable. The 23-year-old has climbed up the rankings and has cemented himself as one of the best as well as most valuable midfielders in the Premier League.
He is an engine in the middle of the park and an all-around midfielder. According to Stat Muse, the midfielder was top of the list when it comes to tackles won with 113 tackles during last season. He also won 230 duels during the 2024/2025 campaign.
However, Caicedo’s game expands more than that. As well as being an elite tackler, the midfielder is also very comfortable on the ball; he can break the lines, play through balls to the attacking players, and his range of passing from deep is impressive.
Another key attribute of his, that goes under the radar, is that Caicedo started all 38 league games for Chelsea last season. He was the first Chelsea player to accomplish this since Cesar Azpilicueta did it back in the 2018/2019 season. This shows that his fitness levels, endurance levels and stamina are through the roof.
This was a full-circle moment for Chelsea’s star. Just over two years after his horror show of a debut, the 23-year-old returned to the stadium that had haunted him previously and put on a magnificent display from start to finish. Caicedo continues to define physics and beat all odds, not just by how well he has been playing for a long period of time, but by continuing to remain healthy.