Jackson double helps Chelsea beat West Ham
Chelsea continued its impressive start to life under Enzo Maresca with a 3-0 win over London rival West Ham United at London Stadium, as Nicolas Jackson scored twice.
Jackson took just 18 minutes to breach a porous West Ham defence twice, breaking in behind to produce two composed finishes and leave the hosts with a mountain to climb.
Julen Lopetegui's team briefly improved before half-time but its hopes of a comeback were dashed by Cole Palmer's strike almost immediately after the interval.
Jackson caught West Ham cold with the opener inside four minutes, slotting his finish through Alphonse Areola's legs after being played in by Jadon Sancho, who was making his first Chelsea start after assisting Christopher Nkunku's winner at Bournemouth.
He had his second 14 minutes later, finishing with the outside of his boot after receiving a pinpoint throughball from Moises Caicedo, then he turned provider as the Blues killed the contest early in the second half.
Just 68 seconds after the restart, Jackson scampered over halfway with the home defence retreating, then teed up Palmer to crash his finish into the far corner and cap an enjoyable outing for Maresca's side.
Since the start of last season, Jackson and Palmer have combined for 10 Premier League goals – at least two more than any other duo.
Chelsea boss Maresca was full of praise for Jackson after his brace.
“We are 100 per cent happy with Nicolas,” Maresca said.
“Since I arrived here, he’s been very good on the ball in terms of goals and assists… but he also did a fantastic job off the ball.
“We are very happy.”
On the victory itself, which lifted Chelsea into second on the Premier League table prior to the remainder of the matchday's games, Maresca said there was still more to come from his players.
“It has been a good game, a good result and the clean sheet was very important. But as I have said many times, we have many things to improve,” he said.
“We can attack better, we can defend better, but overall we are [going] in the right direction.
“I think we can attack better, we can defend better, but especially we can manage the moments better.
“Sometimes, we can do more passes and keep the ball, but it’s a process and we are learning.
“The points are important, but in this moment, the most important thing and the main focus for me is the way we progress.”
Man of the moment Jackson echoed his manager’s sentiments after the match, saying he is concentrating on working hard after reaching four league goals for 2024-2025.
"[I am] trying to play for the team every game. I scored two and I am happy – we won which is most important,” he said.
"We controlled the game early. Always the keepers go one side and it was a good finish [for his opening goal].
"[There has been] plenty of talk and I have been injured for two months, I came back fresh and I hope to get more. I am trying to work hard and do more than last year."
Palmer he was quick to draw attention to Jackson’s contribution as well.
“Everybody knows he is a top player, he needs to keep going,” the England star said.
“The Chelsea fans and players rate him highly – we know what he is capable of.
"There will always be noise, we try to block it out and listen to the manager. We have a good manager and it can only help us to get better."
