On a crisp autumn afternoon at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea put on a masterclass performance against West Ham United in the Premier League. The Blues were in scintillating form from the first whistle, dominating possession and creating chance after chance.
It didn't take long for Chelsea to break the deadlock, with Timo Werner scoring a clinical goal in the 15th minute. The floodgates opened after that, as Tammy Abraham added a brace and Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma also got on the scoresheet.
Cole Palmer notched a 21st league goal of the season when he powered home the first inside 15 minutes, with Conor Gallagher and star-man Noni Madueke wrapping up victory before half-time.
West Ham did hit the bar twice through Jarrod Bowen in the first half but were wretched defensively, and were labelled "embarrassing" by Sky Sports' Clinton Morrison at the break.
The game was pretty much over as a contest by the 36th-minute when Madueke found space in the six-yard box to turn in Thiago Silva's knockdown.
Jackson further tightened Chelsea's grip on all three points shortly after half-time and he showed great composure when rolling in the fifth after beating the offside trap late on.
Chelsea were not asked too many questions defensively but Pochettino will also be pleased to see his side record back-to-back clean sheets in the league for the first time since February 2023.
West Ham have completely forgotten how to defend. It is damning for a manager as pragmatic as Moyes that his side, with 70 goals conceded this season, have the worst record outside the bottom three.
Afterwards Moyes would talk about a lack of “mental toughness” and suggest that the leakiness is down to selling Declan Rice last summer, but the harsh reality is the Scot’s methods are no longer working. West Ham have become an easy team to play. Tomas Soucek and Edson Álvarez, who went off at half-time, have not provided enough protection in midfield. Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna toiled in central defence. Emerson Palmieri, the former Chelsea left-back, was given a torrid time by Noni Madueke.
Despite conceding early in the second period, West Ham did pose slightly more threat after the restart with Emerson firing over the bar and half-time substitute James Ward-Prowse forcing a save out of Djordje Petrovic.
The result extends Moyes' terrible record when visiting Chelsea as a manager, failing to win any of his 19 trips - losing 12 and drawing seven.
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