DECLAN WHO?
West Ham 3 Chelsea 1
Sometimes before a season truly starts, there is a moment’s reflection when the fan may wonder what it holds for them and their team. This moment hovered menacingly in the air before today’s game against Chelsea FC. The away point at Bournemouth could be secured in any of the last three seasons. This home fixture against a billion pound gut-busting and possibly both overpriced and overrated Chelsea team was more likely to tell an unmitigated truth.
The gentle misery of a World Cup Final defeat for England’s women’s team did not start the day well. On arrival at London Stadium I did notice that the few televisions that were on were following Norwich City against Millwall, the half time score of 1-0 indicating that the canaries had put a coal mine around the other Lions playing football today. Clearly not a day to be a footballing member of the Lion family.
West Ham’s two newest players, James Ward-Prowse and Edson Álvarez, were both in a position to make their debuts for the team, Ward-Prowse from the start and Álvarez on the hour, we are reliably informed.
Chelsea’s most impressive signing over the season break was undoubtedly Pochettino, a manager who had almost achieved the impossible task of turning Tottenham Hotspur into a decent team. Chelsea, however, are without a spoke blocking equivalent to Daniel Levy, so ‘Poccho’ might do what many before him have failed to do at Stamford Bridge now their Russian ‘special uncle’ has taken in the task of rescuing the many yachts he has around the world from being impounded.
West Ham start the game on the front foot, having only lost at home to Chelsea once at London Stadium, in April 2021. It’s one of the few home London derbies that Hammers have come to look forward to, especially when the cameras are here, as they are this afternoon. Ward-Prowse, a dead ball specialist has his first challenge of the game when the Hammers grab a corner in the fifth minute. He curls it in to the far post left-footed but Chelsea scramble it away for a second corner after a clawing save from Sánchez. The second is an almost duplicate effort, unpredictable in its predictability, and Nayef Aguerd leaps like, yes, a salmon to head West Ham into a seventh minute lead. Ward-Prowse is congratulated by his new team members including Aguerd, whose final home goal proved the winner in last season’s fixture against Southampton. Ward-Prowse was on hand that day, looking on in a Southampton shirt as his side began to contemplate the unthinkable drop. Aguerd can therefore possibly claim a long-shot connection to bringing Ward-Prowse north to East London.
Chelsea take twenty minutes to find an equaliser after Chilwell’s run down the left finds Carney Chukwuemeka, who picks up Zouma’s failed clearance and hammers the ball home from close in. Chelsea have most of the play in the first half, and should take the lead on half-time when Souček appears to floor Stirling. The VAR process takes forever, which fortunately puts off World Cup winner Enzo Fernández, whose shot down the middle allows Areola saves his first ever PL penalty after failing to save 8/8. Fernandez has never scored in the Premier League. Still hasn’t. Something had to give, but it wasn’t the resistance of a bulging net.
The second half promises trepidation, but it only comes the way of Chelsea. Michail Antonio finds himself free of the defence after a precise through ball by Ward-Prowse and, shrugging off his marker Axel Disasi, hits an unstoppable shot from wide on the right to restore the Hammers’ lead. Sánchez has a clear view of the shot, but the sheer power behind it gives him no chance. West Ham went through the whole of the 2022-23 season without a red card but they collect one in their very first home game, twenty minutes in the second half, when Aguerd throws himself at a loose ball arising from a Ward-Prowse misplaced pass, and takes Nicolas Jackson out of the game. It is a tackle that has no place in a sensible game of football, and as he already has a yellow from the first half, he is off.
Bizarrely West Ham, who have enjoyed barely a quarter of the possession in this game, up the ante, and with Ogbonna on to focus on protecting the lead, still manage to forge attacks late in the game and, deep into injury time, with Chelsea pushing up for the equaliser Madueke tumbles over in possession, leaving Emerson and Paquetá free to attack down the left side where they interchange neat passes to give Emerson a shot on goal before he is upended by a hundred million pounds worth of Chelsea footballer in Moisés Caicedo. Paquetá strolls up in staggering movements to slot the ball home for his first goal of the season, from the penalty spot, and with barely enough time to kick off, it’s going to be a fabulous night in the East End of London.
A game of two penalties, you might say, but I see it as a game that was finally decided by the power of Michail Antonio’s shooting. If that returns, this promises to be a magnificent season.
13 Alphonse Areola, 33 Emerson, 4 Kurt Zouma (captain), 5 Vladimir Coufal, 27 Nayef Aguerd, 7 James Ward Prowse, 11 Lucas Paquetá, 28 Tomas Souček, 22 Saïd Benrahma,, 20 Jarrod Bowen, 9 Michail Antonio
Substitutes: 19 Edison Álvarez,, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 8 Pablo Fornals
Goalscorers: Nayef Aguerd, Michail Antonio, Lucas Paquetá
