Chelsea boss Maresca praises goalscorer Pedro Neto after 5-1 win over West Ham: “He’s been top since I’ve been here” [video] | OneFootball

West Ham United 1-5 Chelsea

Chelsea put down an early marker during their second match of the new Premier League season by thrashing London rivals West Ham United 5-1 on Friday evening.

The Blues came from behind at the London Stadium to record a convincing win with five different goalscorers. One of them was Portugal international Pedro Neto, who scored the all-important second to give his side the lead on the night, ahead of a convincing performance during the remainder of the encounter.

Neto showed good instincts for his goal on 23 minutes. Having crossed from the left, where he started the game, Neto followed the play into the box and found himself free at the back post to turn in a delivery by Brazilian forward João Pedro and score his first of the new campaign.

Despite the ongoing shuffling of the squad at Stamford Bridge, Neto has started both of Chelsea’s opening league games and has remained on the pitch for each 90 minutes. Speaking after the match, Blues manager Enzo Maresca praised Neto, whom he is known to be a huge fan of since taking charge last summer.

“Pedro has been top since I joined the club,” Maresca said. “He’s been very good every game, very consistent. So I’m very happy for Pedro. Yeah [he’s getting stronger every game] but I think many of them have.”

Chelsea have taken four points from their opening two games and temporarily go top of the Premier League. Next up for the Blues comes clashes with west London rivals Fulham and Brentford, before they host Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United next month, in what will be a highly anticipated encounter.