On Sunday, West Ham defeated Chelsea 3-1 in the Premier League despite having 10 men on the field for over 30 minutes. James Ward-Prowse, making his debut game for the Hammers, shone with two assists.
Ward-Prowse provided the assists for the first two West Ham goals in order to outshine Moises Caicedo, who made his first Chelsea appearance since his record-breaking transfer from Brighton by giving away a foolish penalty for the third goal in overtime.
Nayef Aguerd expertly headed in a corner from Ward-Prowse, who arrived from relegated Southampton last week, to give West Ham the lead in the seventh minute.
In the 28th minute, Carney Chukwuemeka pulled Chelsea even, and just before halftime, Enzo Fernandez wasted a penalty opportunity for the Blues.
In the 53rd minute, Michail Antonio ran onto a pass from Ward-Prowse over the top and beat Robert Sanchez with a shot from the outside of the box to give West Ham the lead once again.
In the 67th minute, Aguerd received a second caution for a reckless challenge, but Chelsea was unable to capitalize because of its once again lacking offensive alternatives.
Instead, in the fifth minute of added time, Lucas Paqueta calmly converted a penalty after Caicedo tripped Emerson in the area.
Last Saturday saw the start of both sides’ campaigns with draws, albeit Chelsea had shown great play in a 1-1 home tie with Liverpool.
Chelsea finalized the acquisitions of Caicedo and fellow midfielder Romeo Lavia after the game in the hopes of improving their defense, however Lavia was not even on the substitutes’ bench. It was also Caicedo’s debut to forget.
Everton Loses against Aston Villa
Aston Villa defeated Everton 4-0 at home on Sunday to earn their first three points of the Premier League season. John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Leon Bailey, and Jhon Duran all scored.
At Villa Park, McGinn’s goal in the 18th minute gave the hosts the lead after Unai Emery’s team had been destroyed 5-1 at Newcastle United the previous weekend.
Six minutes later, when Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford fouled striker Ollie Watkins in the penalty box, Villa increased their advantage on Luiz’s calm penalty.
Michael Keane, a defender for Everton, was at fault for Villa’s third goal when his errant clearance fell to Bailey, who slammed in a ferocious shot to prompt an early departure of disgruntled away supporters.
In the 75th minute, substitute Duran completed the thrashing by calmly tapping past Pickford after being given the opportunity to go through on goal due to a defensive blunder by Ashley Young and Keane.
