West Ham United – Chelsea: Five Star Blues Put Hammers To The Sword In The London Derby (1-5)

Chelsea hammered West Ham 5-1 at The London Stadium in gameweek 2 of the Premier League. The game saw a flurry of goals from the Blues after going down 1-0 to a goal by Lucas Paqueta. Three goals from corners and two from open play meant Chelsea would leave their London rivals biting the dust, in what was a five-star display by Maresca’s Blues.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

The Hammers were cast into the forge by a Chelsea side that had a point to prove and points to win. The Blues threw the kitchen sink at Crystal Palace in gameweek 1 of the Premier League, but the Palace defense held firm denying Chelsea goals despite the Blues enjoying the lionshare of possession & shot attempts on goal. For Chelsea, their Club World Cup win is now a distant memory, although it was just one month ago. Enzo Maresca’s first season in charge at Stamford Bridge led to a top four finish and the Blues being crowned world champions after beating PSG in the Club World Cup final, despite being underdogs. You can never write off Chelsea, you never can.

Maresca has shown that he can deliver with his tactics & philosophy, and after Chelsea bolstered their squad in the summer, this season has led to widespread optimism from the Chelsea fan base. The Opta supercomputer released a visual of the most optimistic Premier League fan base using social media data and it was Chelsea fans who were deemed as the most optimistic fan base in England. The message was clear from Maresca at the start of . . .