Chelsea overcame West Ham United 3-0 on Saturday afternoon courtesy of a Nicolas Jackson double and a Cole Palmer strike.
Jackson put Chelsea into the lead after breaking down the left flank, cutting into the box and firing a shot through Alphonse Areola in the West Ham net. Jackson then doubled Chelsea’s lead with just 18 minutes on the clock.
Chelsea extended their lead shortly after the half-time break. Jackson burst through again before teeing up Palmer. Palmer then fired in a left-footed strike to put Enzo Maresca’s side three goals ahead.
Here, The Athletic’s Simon Johnson analyses Chelsea’s performance and runs through the key talking points from Saturday’s game.
Would co-owners have enjoyed Chelsea display?
It is hard to recall the last time Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have been pictured sitting next to each other at a Chelsea match.
In normal circumstances seeing which member of the hierarchy is in attendance does not matter to the fans of any club. They rightly only care about the people representing the team on the pitch.
But the timing of Boehly and Eghbali’s reunion comes just a few weeks after the extent of the discord between them came to light. In fairness the messaging from the club has been that it would be ‘business as usual’ but that is very easy to say, and quite hard to do, when each party is looking to buy the other out to take control.
Co-owners Boehly and Eghbali at the game on Saturday (Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
On the few occasions the TV cameras panned to the duo it did not look like the warmest of marriages, with not a word appearing to be exchanged. But obviously, it was not as if their every exchange was being filmed either.
Regardless of any personal angst, seeing their expensively assembled team overcome their London rivals as comfortably as this will have lightened the mood.
Only time will tell how the ownership situation will be resolved, but at least things appear to be heading in the right direction on the pitch. This is the highest Chelsea have been in the Premier League table since they took over.
Did Jackson silence the doubters?
It seems like ever since Jackson was signed by Chelsea from Villarreal in 2023, he has had questions to answer. Former footballers covering games on TV seem to be regularly debating whether the Senegal international is good enough to lead the line for the club.
That pressure has intensified in recent weeks with ex-Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi being vocal about Jackson’s ability in front of goal while trying to help the club secure the signing of fellow Nigerian Victor Osimhen from Napoli.
Chelsea failed in their pursuit, with Osihmen joining Galatasaray on loan, although it is an option they could pursue again in January. But Jackson still has the pressure of talented finisher Christopher Nkunku to worry about from within the current squad.
Nkunku replaced the rather wasteful Jackson late on against Bournemouth last week and scored the winning goal with a smart shot into the corner.
Jackson scores Chelsea’s opening goal (Henry Browne/Getty Images)
It led to more debate over whether Nkunku should start versus West Ham, yet head coach Enzo Maresca stuck by the 23-year-old and my how he was rewarded.
Jackson quickly silenced the home crowd with two goals in the first 18 minutes. What made the strikes more noteworthy is he had a lot of time to think about what to do, a situation he has not always revelled in. But he showed great composure on each occasion to beat Alphonse Areola.
That takes his tally to four goals in five Premier League games this season, hardly evidence he should be dropped from the first XI any time soon.
Within two minutes of the restart, Jackson showed his cool once again as he led a fine counter from a West Ham attack and timed the pass to Cole Palmer perfectly for the latter to make it 3-0. It was another example of getting the decision-making right when on another day he might have sought personal glory and shot wildly in a bid to get the hat-trick.
When he was replaced by Nkunku this time around, he got a standing ovation from the away support with chants of ‘Nico’. It was one of the warmest receptions he has had from the Chelsea crowd.
Is Caicedo finally living up to his price-tag?
It has not taken Caicedo long to establish himself as one of the players Maresca has come to trust the most. Given he cost Chelsea a club record £115million (once add-ons are triggered) from Brighton last year, perhaps it is to be expected.
But Maresca has given Caicedo the most minutes of any Chelsea player this season so far, which is some compliment given how he likes to use substitutions to share the workload around.
Caicedo has started all five Premier Leagues games under Maresca, plus 84 minutes of the first leg of their Conference League Qualifier against Servette. When the second leg was threatening to get out of control, the Ecuador international was among the first substitutes to come off the bench to help secure the aggregate victory.
Caicedo impressed for Chelsea (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
He has been getting better with each game under Maresca and his contribution to this rare victory at the London Stadium is perhaps the pick of the bunch. It was not just because Jackson’s second goal came from his fine through ball. Caicedo seemed to be everywhere, winning possession and making interceptions.
According to whoscored.com, he led Chelsea for most tackles (eight) and the most touches (74). He was also second with the most passes behind Levi Colwill. Such was West Ham’s frustration with him, Michail Antonio resorted to an ugly challenge, which he was rightly booked for, to stop him.
When Enzo Fernandez was substituted late on, it was fitting that Caicedo was then given the captain’s armband to see out the fixture.
What did Enzo Maresca say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Chelsea?
Tuesday, September 24: Barrow (H), Carabao Cup, 7.45pm BST, 2.45pm ET
Saturday, September 28: Brighton (H), Premier League, 3pm BST, 10am ET
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(Top photo: Henry Browne/Getty Images)
