Nicolas Jackson scored twice and grabbed an assist as Chelsea easily defeated a mediocre West Ham on Saturday, moving the Blues into second place in the standings, if only momentarily.
The 23-year-old has been made fun of at Chelsea a lot, but he silenced his detractors today with two goals and an assist.
To be honest, the Hammers were much too slow, and Chelsea could smell blood. In a terrible first eighteen minutes for the home team, Jackson dutifully increased his season total to four goals. He initially broke free on the left channel and slotted between Alphonse Areola’s knees before racing through again and sliding the ball home with the outside of his right foot.
For a frustrated Julen Lopetegui, the second half didn’t get much better as his team conceded just minutes after the break. This time, Cole Palmer did the damage with a deft shot into the far corner of the net.
The three-goal lead gave Enzo Maresca the opportunity to make some early substitutions in an effort to keep his rather bloated squad of players happy with their playing time, but West Ham was unable to rally here as the Blues kept their flawless away record from the beginning of the season.