NICOLAS JACKSON stole the show with a brilliant double to sink West Ham in a Chelsea performance with only one negative.
The striker was clinical in front of goal and opened the scoring after just four minutes at London Stadium.
He linked well with Jadon Sancho who again looked lively and caused the opposition problems with his trickery.
Jackson also showed a good understanding with Moises Caicedo as the pair twice linked up for goals.
Caicedo looked more like his £115million price tag and his one-two with Jackson sparked the counter-attack that resulted in Chelsea’s third goal.
Jackson got the assist as he found Palmer, who finished clinically past Areola.
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Chelsea were a threat on the counter throughout and came close to adding a fourth through Nkunku, while their organised defence kept Jarrod Bowen quiet and stopped West Ham from finding a way back into the contest.
Here is how SunSport’s Kealan Hughes rated the Chelsea display.
Robert Sanchez – 6
Made a few saves but they were all ones he would be expected to make.
One hairy moment in the first half he got away with after missing the ball with an attempted catch.
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Wesley Fofana – 4
Was caught out a couple of times and was fortunate not to concede a first half penalty when he appeared to pull back Crysencio Summerville.
The West Ham winger caused him a few problems before both were substituted before the hour mark.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 8
Looked very assured on the floor and in the air, marshalling the backline well alongside Colwill.
Booked for a foul on Summerville shortly before half-time.
Levi Colwill – 8
So commanding on and off the ball and tried to start off attacking moves from the back.
Looks at home in the Chelsea defence and could make the left-side centre-back position his own this campaign.
Marc Cucurella – 7
Calm on the ball and did well against a tricky customer in Mohammed Kudus, although the winger did get in behind on a couple of occasions.
Booked for a cynical foul on Kudus as he attempted to counter-attack.
Moises Caicedo – 8
Produced the assist for Jackson’s second goal with a beautifully weighted through ball and linked well with the striker in the build-up to Chelsea’s third.
Rarely gave the ball away and kept things ticking over while protecting the backline.
Enzo Fernandez – 6
A quiet match which was mostly spent trying to keep West Ham at bay after Chelsea took an early lead.
Did not do a lot wrong but Caicedo was definitely the better of the two in the middle.
Noni Madueke – 6
Glimpses of quality but was a little quiet as Chelsea did not see too much of the ball except on the break, until the closing stages.
Had one effort on goal which was well saved at the near post.
Cole Palmer – 8
Was quiet in the first half although did flash a chance inches wide.
That allowed him to get his sights in as with his next chance he fired in off the post to make the score 3-0.
Jadon Sancho – 7
Looked lively once again with another assist and some clever touches in the opposition box which helped him set up a few shooting chances for team-mates.
Nicolas Jackson – 10
A clinical display from the Blues frontman with two well-taken goals early on to put his side in the ascendency.
Was superb again for Chelsea’s third as he orchestrated a counter-attack before slipping in Palmer to score.
Subs
Pedro Neto (for Sancho, 57 mins) – 6
Some nice touches to create chances, which helped keep the Blues on top.
Axel Disasi (for Fofana, 57 mins) – 7
Shored up the Chelsea right-hand side and West Ham lost a lot of impetus once he came on.
Christopher Nkunku (for Jackson, 64mins) – 6
Should have scored with a header but in fairness Areola produced a brilliant stop to keep it out.
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Joao Felix (for Palmer, 64 mins) – 6
Had one effort on goal that hit the side netting but was otherwise not involved enough.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (for Fernandez, 84 mins) – 6
Kept the ball but came on with the game fading as West Ham had given up.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
