Jackson marks 50th appearance for Chelsea with 2 goals in 3-0 win at West Ham
LONDON (AP) — Nicolas Jackson marked his 50th appearance for Chelsea with two early goals to inspire his team to a 3-0 win at West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Jackson also added an assist for Cole Palmer at the start of the second half as Chelsea swept aside West Ham, which was booed at the end of the match by the remaining fans.
It was a third league win of the season for Chelsea — all of those have come away from Stamford Bridge.
New West Ham coach Julen Lopetegui is already under pressure after his third loss of the fledgling Premier League season.
It took Chelsea less than four minutes to take the lead and the West Ham defense was nowhere to be seen when Jackson played a one-two with Jadon Sancho and surged forward before cutting in from the left and firing between Alphonse Areola’s legs from a tight angle.
It was Sancho’s second assist in as many matches since joining from Manchester United and his first start since May 2023.
Jackson doubled his tally in the 18th minute as another sweeping move saw him burst clear onto a Moises Caicedo throughball and keep his composure to drill into the bottom left corner.
It was the Senegal forward’s 21st goal in 50 appearances for Chelsea.
West Ham briefly appeared to get into the match halfway through the first period and had penalty appeals waved away before Mohammed Kudus had a goal ruled offside.
However, it went from bad to worse for the home team right at the start of the second half as Jackson turned provider to slip the ball through to Palmer, who fired in off the inside of the left post.
Manchester United visits Crystal Palace in one of seven later matches, while Liverpool hosts Bournemouth.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer