Gary Neville praises ‘threatening’ player in Chelsea’s 2-1 win vs West Ham, he ‘injected something’ into the game

Add as preferred source on Google

Chelsea’s first half against West Ham United on Monday night was quite a boring one until Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring.

In the first 30 minutes, not too much happened, with Chelsea only managing to create a couple of chances.

Enzo Fernandez, however, did try to make things happen and was one of the better performers on the pitch.

Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer had half chances, but nothing came from them. Before the game, David Luiz spoke about Palmer, comparing the attacking midfielder to Eden Hazard.

• READ MORE: Worrying Enzo Fernandez statistic from Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester City proves Enzo Maresca needs to make bold Cole Palmer decision

Gary Neville thought Enzo Fernandez was threatening against West Ham

While neither Fernandez nor any of his teammates could score against West Ham in the first half, Gary Neville thought the midfielder was still dangerous.

Speaking on Sky Sports (03/02/2025 at 20:23) after Palmer’s first real chance of the game, the Manchester United legend said: “That happens because Enzo Fernandez plays a pass, a threatening pass into the forward players and all of a sudden it comes alive.

“It’s a good little touch from [Nicolas] Jackson. You would expect better from Palmer. It’s a good chance for him.”

Enzo Maresca has heavily relied on Fernandez and Moises Caicedo this season, but the South American duo are set to get a bit of help from 19-year-old Mathis Amougou. Amougou is set to join Chelsea from Saint-Etienne to give the Blues a midfield boost.

West Ham really struggled to contain Enzo Fernandez

Graham Potter would have been pleased with the Hammers’ first half against his former club.

They limited their opportunities and Bowen took his chance when it came. But Fernandez still managed to cause them real problems and not just with his passing.

Neville was also impressed with some of the positions that the World Cup winner was taking up.

After one chance he had, Neville said while commentating on the game (20:31): “He’s been the one Enzo Fernandez that’s been trying to inject something into this game, recognising that it’s just drifting a little bit.

“He’s started to move out towards the [right] side and this time he makes a run-through. It just disrupts the way the game is going in such a rigid fashion.”

While Fernandez did not put in a terrible performance, for a while now, Chelsea’s displays have just not been good enough.

They take on Brighton & Hove Albion next in the fourth round of the FA Cup and despite the Seagulls getting smashed 7-0 by Nottingham Forest over the weekend, it would not be a surprise if Chelsea lost that one.