Chelsea came up with a dominating performance in their first away fixture of the new Premier League 2025-26 season as they registered their first victory of their campaign, thrashing West Ham United 5-1 on Friday.

The crowd at the London Stadium witnessed a masterclass from the Blues, who produced an improved effort after playing out a goalless draw against Crystal Palace at home last week. New signings and young players hit their stride in the absence of injured talisman Cole Palmer.

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Notably, Palmer was ruled out of the match after suffering some muscle soreness in the warmup. After conceding an early goal at the London Stadium, Chelsea hit back with goals from five different players inside an hour to take over at the top of the standings.

The visitors were 0-1 down in just the 6th minute, but Chelsea's new signing Joao Pedro played a key role and provided the 15th-minute equaliser with his first league goal for Chelsea before Pedro Neto and captain Enzo Fernandez made it 3-1. Moises Caicedo, on his 100th appearance for the club, and Trevoh Chalobah added two more after the half-time break from corners.

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On the other hand, the 18-year-old Brazilian winger Estevao, who replaced Palmer in the starting lineup, provided one assist, which was a perfect pass across the goal for Fernandez to tap in. He has written his name in the history books, becoming Chelsea's youngest provider of a Premier League assist. He could also have scored in the 73rd, but he hesitated too long when clear on goal.

"He's young, but he showed that he's very mature. He made good decisions and all the new players, all the new signings came here to help the team, to bring something good -- good energy, good talent," said left back Marc Cucurella.

"I think we have an amazing squad and hopefully we can do good things this season."

 

Cole Palmer Injury Update

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca talked about Palmer's injury, saying that the star player felt something during warm-ups, without getting into specifics. He, however, mentioned that his withdrawal was ‘precautionary to avoid taking any unnecessary risks’.

Palmer's absence could hurt Chelsea big considering the big challenges ahead in the season. The 23-year-old has managed to register 43 goals and 29 assists in 98 career appearances for the Blues since moving from Manchester City early in the 2023-24 season.

It is still not clear what caused Cole Palmer's injury. However, it is likely that the England national will undergo tests.