By Score More
Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea suffered a resounding setback in their visit to West Ham’s territory on Sunday afternoon, losing 1-3 and tallying their first defeat in the Premier League 2023/2024 season.
The match kicked off in the best possible way for the Hammers, who took the lead just seven minutes in through Nayef Aguerd, capitalizing on the Blues’ defensive passivity during a corner kick to make it 1-0.
Chelsea took 20 minutes to respond to the goal and found the equalizer at the 28th minute, courtesy of a splendid individual effort by Chukwuemeka within the penalty area.
The Blues had a golden opportunity to head into halftime with the lead at the 43rd minute, after Sterling was fouled in the West Ham penalty area. However, Enzo Fernández, tasked with taking the penalty, failed to beat Alphonse Areola, and the two teams went into the break tied.
The second half belonged more to West Ham. Michail Antonio produced a fantastic play in the 53rd minute, once again putting the Hammers in the lead. Aguerd’s expulsion at the 67th minute, receiving two quick yellow cards for protesting a foul that resulted in his first yellow, left West Ham with a numerical disadvantage.
David Moyes tightened the defensive lines despite being a man down, and the final blow to the Blues came just before the final whistle. A penalty committed against Emerson was converted by the controversial Lucas Paquetá in the 90+5th minute. Paquetá, who seems to be in hot water and is being investigated in a sports betting case.
The history books will record West Ham’s first victory and the renewed doubts surrounding the Blues’ ability to contend for the title, as they’ve only managed to gather one point in the first two matchdays of this Premier League edition.