Chelsea briefly climbed to second position on the Premier League table after a 0-3 victory over West Ham on Saturday afternoon.
Nicolas Jackson was instrumental as the Blues dismantled their London rivals with the Senegalese scoring 2 goals and setting up the third for Cole Palmer.
The win makes it 3 on the bounce away from home for Enzo Maresca’s men, the manager becoming the first to such recording since Pep Guardiola in 2016.
Match summary
Chelsea showed early on their intent, taking the lead with just 4 minutes on the clock. Jadon Sancho played an important part in the opener setting up Nicolas Jackson who still had work to do before slotting the ball through the legs of Alphonse Areola.
Jackson was again scorer for the second goal after Moises Caicedo was afforded time and space to send the slick forward on his way. Leaving Max Kilman in his wake, Jackson hit it low with the outside of his right boot past Areola. It was a slick finish matched with a slick celebration in front of the camera.
West Ham tried to fight back and Mohammed Kudus thought he had pulled one back for the Hammers but for the offside flag. There was a penalty shout from the hosts after Crysencio Summerville went down in the box but VAR waved it off.
Jarod Bowen forced Sanchez to a save before Cole Palmer put the finishing touches for Chelsea, firing past Areola after a clever pass from the impressive Nicolas Jackson.
Overall it was an entertaining game from a Chelsea perspective as they strode to victory. West Ham on the other hand are still not clicking under new manager Julen Lopetegui who said after the game that “West Ham needs to improve”.
Impressive away disastrous at home
3 consecutive home league defeats is the unwanted record set by the Hammers, the first time they’re having such steak in their 129 years history.
For Chelsea, it is their 3rd consecutive league win away from home this season which casts contrast to their not so impressive home record – 1 defeat (vs Man City), 1 draw (vs Crystal Palace).
What next
Both teams are in EFL cup third round action midweek, with Chelsea hosting Barrow on Tuesday, while it doesn’t get any easier for West Ham as they visit Liverpool on Wednesday. The Hammers will be back in league action on Saturday at Brentford after which they will face Ipswich a week later.
