The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg has taken aim at West Ham United’s defending after their disastrous start left them 2-0 down against Chelsea courtesy of a Nicolas Jackson brace, before the Blues rounded things off in style to secure a 3-0 victory in the second-half.
Steinberg blasts “rubbish” West Ham
Excitement was building in the summer transfer window after West Ham splashed the cash to welcome the likes of Niclas Fullkrug, Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and others in what looked to be the best collective business of the window. With Julen Lopetegui replacing David Moyes too, the Hammers looked primed to compete for a European place once again.
So far, however, they’ve looked a shadow of a side featuring such talents, having picked up just one Premier League victory all season which came courtesy of a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. Since losing against Manchester City and needing a late Danny Ings equaliser to salvage a point against Fulham, West Ham entered their London derby against Chelsea in need of their most convincing performance yet.
Things haven’t exactly gone to plan so far, however. In fact, the Hammers were anything but convincing from the very start, conceding almost straight from kick off as Chelsea strolled through after a quick free kick and handed Jackson the chance to open the scoring. The forward then found himself one-on-one for a second time before the break, making no mistake to net his brace.
Watching on, Steinberg blasted West Ham for their early blunder, labelling their defending “pathetic” for falling alseep at the restart, then calling West Ham “rubbish” following Jackson’s second, which once again was very simple and exposed a complete lack of structure and energy through the Hammers’ spine.
After spending big in the summer, those around the London stadium would have been expecting far better from their new-look side, and the display did improve shortly before half-time, with Lopetegui bringing Tomas Soucek on for a struggling Guido Rodriguez.
Summer signing Summerville was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after a pull on his arm from Wesley Fofana, while Mohammed Kudus had the ball in the net but was correctly ruled offside. But just as the Hammers showed signs of a shock comeback, Cole Palmer put the game to bed once and for all to seal the points just two minutes after the break.
Once again, questions will be asked about West Ham’s defending. Like Jackson the first half, Palmer found himself with the freedom of the London Stadium, before finishing with aplomb. Lopetegui could only look towards the turf as his side continued their worrying form amid continued doubts over his ability to take the Hammers back into Europe.
