The Top Flight
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Chelsea lose to West Ham and record signing fails to impress on debut

By Gary Jordan

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United and Moises Caicedo of Chelsea FC during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on August 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United and Moises Caicedo of Chelsea FC during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on August 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea still winless

Chelsea still has not won this season, despite the vast amounts spent on rebuilding their team. One player endured a nightmare debut after his record transfer earlier this week.

Moises Caicedo introduced himself to the Chelsea side at the London Stadium, with his new side 2-1 down with half an hour to play. The Ecuadorian was somewhat off the pace in a pulsating London derby that saw a penalty missed, and a Hammers player sent off. However, it was late on that the game was finally put out of reach by the Blues.

Caicedo made a rough challenge on Emerson Palmieri during the six minutes of added time, resulting in a penalty. Manchester City target Lucas Paqueta calmly slotted the spot kick away, locking up a 3-1 victory that elevated the East London side up into the top six after two games, and leaving Chelsea with just a single point from their opening two games.

Better team

For the most part, Chelsea was showing more attacking intent, and had 75% possession, with 17 shots on goal. This still may highlight the problem they had last season, which was scoring goals. Of course, it is only two games into the season, and new manager Mauricio Pochettino is still installing his style of play into his players. He will not have liked it when Enzo Fernandez saw his penalty saved by Alphonse Areola with the score 1-1.

Talking to Sky Sports after the game, Pochettino told Chelsea fans to ‘trust the process’:

"“That’s football. Teams like us, we need to get the right balance. I think today, there were a few actions we didn’t manage well, and we concede. Overall it is this type of game that is difficult to explain. You had the possession, you create, and maybe you were the better side, but in the end, you lose. Disappointed, but this is only the beginning. We need to believe in the process. I think we are going to be stronger and for sure be really competitive.”"

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