West Ham United: David Moyes must drag Emerson off at half-time v Chelsea
David Moyes must replace Emerson Palmieri at the break if West Ham are to rescue a result in the second half against Chelsea on Sunday (5 May).
West Ham were 1-0 down within 15 minutes as Cole Palmer latched onto a loose ball in the box to open the scoring, and Chelsea have gone close to having further success down their right-hand side – with Irons left-back Emerson a passenger in defence.
A drilled ball into the box then flicked up for Conor Gallagher, who volleyed in Chelsea’s second goal with the Hammers defence all at sea, and Noni Madueke headed in the third to give his side a seemingly unassailable 3-0 advantage at the break.
West Ham haven’t won any of their last three Premier League matches, and if they’re to have any hope of turning things around to keep their European hopes alive, they need an alternative to Emerson – who is on a yellow card – at left-back in the second half.
Emerson must be replaced after first-half no-show for West Ham
West Ham couldn’t have had a worse start to the game and were 1-0 down inside the opening quarter of an hour, before Gallagher was quickest to Palmer’s deflected pass and rifled in Chelsea’s second.
Emerson couldn’t have done much about Palmer’s opening goal – as the ball in came from the opposite side of the box – but he was caught napping at the back post as Trevoh Chalobah headed over from a corner barely four minutes later.
He’s been hesitant to get forward for the Hammers compared to right-back Vladimir Coufal, but one cross he did put into Chelsea’ box was telegraphed straight to Djordje Petrovic, whose quick throw out resulted in a breakaway opportunity for Nicolas Jackson.
Emerson was nowhere to be seen for another Jackson chance, with the left-back caught out of position and leaving Lucas Paqueta to clean up defensively, forcing the Chelsea striker wide as he fired a shot into Alphonse Areola’s gloves.
Another counter-attack led by the Senegalese striker saw him hacked down by the left-back right on the edge of West Ham’s box, resulting in a yellow card for Emerson.
Further openings for Chelsea came within a few minutes of each other late in the half, both of which saw Noni Madueke cut inside Emerson all too easily before firing just wide of the far post. Madueke headed in the Blues’ third from the corner directly after that effort.
With both Aaron Cresswell and Maxwell Cornet as alternative left-back options on the bench, David Moyes must be thinking about withdrawing Emerson and bringing one of the pair on for the second half.
Already 3-0 down at the break though, it may be a case of damage limitation for the Hammers. Cresswell offers more defensive solidity than Emerson, but with Moyes’ side needing to rescue at least a point to have any hope of playing in Europe next season, the attacking x-factor of Cornet may be the answer.
In other West Ham news, another update has emerged on David Moyes’ future.
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