Chelsea coach cries for help as 10-man West Ham trash Blues 3-1

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino suffered his first defeat as Michail Antonio’s superb strike and Enzo Fernandez’s penalty miss condemned the Blues to a 3-1 loss against West Ham on Sunday.

After last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool, Pochettino’s side wasted a lively performance as they paid the price for sloppy defending and wasteful finishing at the London Stadium.

Antonio blasted West Ham’s decisive second goal after half-time and Lucas Paqueta added a late penalty to leave Pochettino still waiting for his first Premier League win since taking charge in the close-season.

Chelsea teenager Carney Chukwuemeka had scored an eye-catching first half equaliser to cancel Nayef Aguerd’s early opener for West Ham.

But the turning point came when Fernandez’s penalty was saved by Alphonse Areola just before the break.

The Blues suffered another blow when Chukwuemeka limped off on the strike of half-time.

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Antonio had just five touches in the first half but the West Ham striker made the most of a rare involvement in the 53rd minute.

Chelsea defender Levi Colwill and Axel Disasi were bullied by Antonio, who took Ward-Prowse’s pass and used his strength to manouevre into position for a ferocious strike that flashed past Sanchez from the edge of the area.

With an hour gone, Ecuador midfielder Caicedo came on for his Chelsea debut after joining from Brighton for a British record fee of £115 million ($146 million).

AFP