Estêvão inspires Chelsea to thrash West Ham and put pressure on Graham Potter

This was Graham Potter finding out what a broken club really looks like. It is the London Stadium emptying out long before full time, patience worn thin by the latest in a long line of humiliations. It is one young fan mounting a solo pitch invasion after being driven to despair by his side’s inability to defend set pieces. It is a new £15m goalkeeper who cannot catch crosses and, as much as Potter will plead for calm, it is that the only positive for West Ham was Chelsea pretty much declaring after going 5-1 up with over half an hour to play.

Chelsea had run through at will, cutting West Ham’s execrable back five to shreds, João Pedro and Estêvão Willian playing a different sport from every individual in claret and blue. Whatever the gulf in class, though, there can be no excuse for a performance so lacking in heart and a team so incapable of doing the basics.

There is no hiding place for Potter, who has taken fewer points from his first 10 home games in the Premier League than any manager in West Ham’s history. He is already under pressure, already facing suggestions that he is in trouble after eight months in the job, although there is the awkward question of whether he is more symptom than cause. After all, the sense that Potter is the wrong fit at a club who tend to feed off ­emotion should not overlook the fact that this collapse owes much to years of West Ham’s owners making one bad decision after another on and off the pitch.

Put it all together and Potter could be forgiven if he was pining for the days when he was struggling to make sense of life at Chelsea. He was bruised by his experience in west London, although the longer time has gone on the more it has become apparent that Chelsea were simply going through a period of transition. Their owners have built a seriously talented squad since ­firing ­Potter.

Cole Palmer pulling out of this game with a groin injury just before ­kick off? It hardly mattered when manager Enzo Maresca was simply able to bring in Estêvão and watch the 18-year-old Brazilian ­prodigy rip West Ham apart with his speed and skill on just his first competitive start for Chelsea.

It bordered on the absurd that Chelsea had fallen behind to a stunning early goal from Lucas Paquetá. The theory that fatigue will be one of the biggest challenges for Maresca’s side after their Club World Cup exertions had been given strength by Palmer exiting the warm-up early. It meant a rejig in an attack led by Liam Delap – Estêvão came in on the right, João Pedro played as the No 10 and Pedro Neto moved to the left – and the late alterations initially had West Ham thinking that their luck was about to turn after losing to Sunderland on the opening weekend.

Yet the optimism faded soon after Estêvão lost possession in the sixth minute and watched Paquetá send a swerving shot past Robert Sánchez from 25 yards. Chelsea needed less than 10 minutes to respond in the manner of world champions, Neto’s corner headed on by Marc Cucurella for João Pedro to shake off Aaron Wan-Bissaka and equalise. They were soon ahead, Paquetá squandering possession before João Pedro crossed for Neto to convert, and the game had run away from Potter’s side by the time Estêvão sliced through West Ham’s left side before crossing for Enzo Fernández to make it 3-1 in the 34th minute.

It became painful for Potter, who has won two home games since replacing Julen Lopetegui in January. West Ham, who have conceded eight in their first two games, are relegation candidates. Midfield reinforcements cannot come quickly enough. Moisés Caicedo and Fernández ran over James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek. Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo and Nayef Aguerd all looked like expensive mistakes in central defence.

West Ham crumbled. They have no leadership. Estêvão’s assist for Fernández was followed by the camera cutting to David Sullivan, West Ham’s largest shareholder. The mood in the stands was a curious mix of anger and apathy. Many have lost patience with Sullivan after an ­uninspired transfer window, blaming him for the club’s shoddy recruitment. There were more boos when the 33-year-old Callum ­Wilson replaced the 32-year-old Niclas ­Füllkrug up front.

It got worse. Mads Hermansen flapped at a corner and gifted a fourth goal to Caicedo. West Ham cannot defend their box. The next corner brought more confusion, Hermansen bullied before Trevoh Chalobah scored the fifth. It turned ugly. Fans near the dugout aimed furious gestures at Potter and one young supporter ran on the pitch. Attempts to tackle the boy were complicated by an older fan breaking through security and confronting stewards , capping off a night off utter embarrassment for West Ham.