West Ham 3-1 Chelsea: Two positive and a whole lot of negatives
Robert Sanchez: Not good enough on the day
Sanchez was poor for the second goal particularly, which makes it two games in a row where he has let in very saveable goals. it should be mentioned that the back line was stretched and all three centerbacks for Chelsea on the pitch were as culpable as Sanchez was for the goal. Antonio did not take an unexpected shot, and Sanchez should have been better prepared for the shot.
Moises Caicedo: Went out of his way to make the red card in West Ham’s favor
Caicedo is the most expensive player in England at the moment, and it was not surprising that he was brought on with the Blues 2-1 down in an away game. Yes, an attacking option would have been preferred, but the Blues hierarchy, as well as the head coach, were happy to let everyone who could create something out of nothing – especially Ziyech – go, so when the chips are down and you need goals, you turn to expensive central midfielders because that’s all you have.
Caicedo didn’t have a poor game because he didn’t bring an attacking threat, which Chelsea needed, it was because he was bad at everything that mattered in decisive moments of the game. He made a needless error leading to a shot, exhibiting a shocking lack of spatial awareness. He also conceded a penalty with a careless tackle.
Caicedo attempted zero long balls but completed only 84% of his passes, which is incredibly poor for a central midfielder on a team with an extra man. It was outrageous that David Moyes took off Michail Antonio and West Ham still threatened us considerably with 10 men.
Nicolas Jackson: Wasteful
Jackson has shown extremely good ball movement in the last two games, but he has missed four big chances in that time, and Chelsea has only scored two goals as a team. There’s only so much praise Jackson can get when he’s not scoring goals or finishing chances at a reasonable rate. Jackson kept dropping into midfield to receive the ball and try to make things happen.
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This is poor, as he’s supposed to be a center forward, and as such, he should be pinning the centerback, and staying forward. Manchester City doesn’t win the FA Cup final, UEFA Champions League final, UEFA Super Cup final, and the Newcastle game this weekend without Erling Haaland playing at center forward, despite him not scoring in any of these games. Effectiveness cannot be substituted at the highest level, and Jackson has to stay forward to be effective as a center forward for the Blues.