August 20, (THEWILL) – James Ward-Prowse made an immediate impact on his West Ham debut, setting up two goals in a deserving 3-1 home win over Chelsea.
The £30 million signing from Southampton created first-half strikes for Nayef Aguerd and Michail Antonio either side of Carney Chukwuemeka’s equaliser. Although Enzo Fernandez missed a penalty for the visitors and the Hammers were reduced to 10 men after Aguerd’s red card, David Moyes’ side held firm.
They sealed the first win of the season in stoppage time with Lucas Paqueta’s penalty after Chelsea’s new boy, Moises Caicedo, fouled Emerson Palmieri. Mauricio Pochettino will wonder how his expensively assembled Blues left empty-handed. But, West Ham fully deserved their victory thanks to Ward-Prowse’s instant impact.
The England international is known for his set-piece delivery and crafted Aguerd’s opener from a seventh-minute corner. Chukwuemeka’s 28th-minute equaliser meant both sides went into the break 1-1 after Fernandez’s missed penalty. Antonio restored West Ham’s lead eight minutes into the second half, racing onto Ward-Prowse’s clever ball over the top.
Yet, Aguerd’s dismissal did not help the Blues, who lacked ideas with Paqueta’s late spot-kick rounding off a miserable day. They will have an easier task against newcomers Luton at home on Friday and the following day West Ham will hope to keep this momentum going against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
