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Enzo Maresca has revealed his decision to withdraw Cole Palmer from Chelsea’s 5-1 thrashing of West Ham was taken to avoid taking any risks with his fitness.
Chelsea were dealt a blow ahead of kick-off, with Palmer leaving the warm-up early and being withdrawn from the starting lineup to be replaced by youngster Estevao.
And the Blues initially struggled in his absence after going behind to Lucas Paqueta’s stunning sixth-minute opener, but the Club World Cup champions responded in style.
Joao Pedro’s first Premier League goal for Chelsea hauled them level before further strikes from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez had Maresca’s men cruising at the break.
Trevoh Chalobah and Moises Caicedo concluded the rout, leading the Blues to the summit of the early standings, having drawn their opening game with Crystal Palace.
Indeed, under Maresca, Chelsea have picked up more points in Premier League London derbies since the start of last season than any other side (26 – P14 W7 D5 L2).
The Blues take on another team from the capital in Fulham next weekend, and Palmer might yet be available after Maresca revealed his absence was precautionary.
“In the last four or five days he was not 100%. In the warm-up he felt something, and we didn’t want to take any risk to get worse,” Maresca told BBC Sport.
Cole Palmer has been replaced in tonight’s starting line-up by Estevao Willian.#CFC | #WHUCHE
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 22, 2025
Chelsea’s triumph was just the 10th time in Premier League history that a side scored five or more goals in their first away game of the season, with the Blues also the last to do so, winning 6-2 away to Wolves in 2024-25.
And Maresca’s side were worthy of their win, ending the game with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.93 from their 12 shots to West Ham’s 0.94 from their 12 attempts as they piled more pressure on former boss Graham Potter.
“Very happy for today, also very happy last week. I thought the performance was good, we didn’t score then, but tonight we scored five,” Maresca added.
“For me, it has been fantastic since the moment I enjoyed the club. Probably the latest results, the Conference League, Club World Cup, top four in the Premier League.
“I think no-one expected it, but we achieved it.”
Their result was made even more impressive given their attacking dominance without Palmer, who was their top scorer in the Premier League last season with 15 goals.
But the Blues had an adequate replacement in rising star Estevao, who built on his impressive pre-season by grabbing an assist on his first start in the top flight.
Indeed, at 18 years and 120 days old, Estevao became the youngest player in Premier League history to assist a goal for Chelsea, while also being the youngest player to start for the Blues in the top flight since Lewis Hall in November 2022 (18 years, 65 days).
18 – Estêvão is the youngest player in Premier League history to assist a goal for Chelsea (18 years, 120 days). Prodigy. pic.twitter.com/ioWSYXkKtF
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 22, 2025
Estevao also ended the match with team-high totals for successful dribbles (two) and passes in the final third (14, level with Moises Caicedo), leaving Marc Cucurella impressed.
“I think he’s young, but he showed that he’s very mature,” the left-back told Sky Sports.
“He made very 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.
“I think we have an amazing squad, so I hope we can do good things this season.”
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