5) No Payet, no party
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The French midfielder had been West Ham’s best player last season and carried the good form into the recently concluded Euros with his national team. However, given the extent of football he has played over the last 12 months, it was deemed too early to start him in the season opener, as a result of which West Ham suffered from a lack of creativity for a large duration of the game.
They failed to fully utilise the services of their big burly centre-forward Andy Carroll as he was largely restricted to defensive work. The side did not create a single chance in the first half and had to wait until Payet came onto the pitch in order to threaten the Chelsea back line.
The inability to find a suitable back-up option for Payet could work against Bilic and the side should actively add at least one more creative midfielder to its ranks.
