West Ham fans demand immediate Julen Lopetegui sacking after crushing defeat to Chelsea

But any hopes that West Ham would put their rivals to the sword were extinguished early on, with Chelsea going ahead after just four minutes.

Nicolas Jackson, so often mocked last season, converted from a tight angle after being played through by Jadon Sancho.

Jackson then doubled his own tally, as well as Chelsea's, in the 18th minute with the striker prodding past Alphonse Areola with the outside of his boot.

West Ham did, briefly, look as though they'd be able to get back into the match.

But Chelsea put the game beyond them just two minutes into the half, with Cole Palmer netting their third.

Back in the summer, West Ham parted ways with David Moyes.

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Many felt they needed to change things up, despite the Scot steering them to UEFA Conference League glory in 2023.

Yet ever since the appointment of Lopetegui, West Ham have struggled.

With just four points from five matches, there are genuine concerns that the east London side could find themselves in a relegation scrap unless things improve.

And furious supporters on social media have now called on the West Ham board to act and relieve Lopetegui of his duties.

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"Lopetegui getting sacked today is very obvious. They won’t trust him to manage the next 2 winnable league fixtures," were the words of one user.

"West Ham should sack Lopetegui, have too much talent to be underperforming like this," raged a second.

"They should sack Lopetegui before Monday morning," said a third.

Another user fumed: "Sack Lopetegui immediately."

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And a fifth said: "West Ham should sack Lopetegui, pick up the phone and apologise to Moyes and beg him to take his job back!"

While it was a disastrous result for West Ham, it was another impressive performance for Chelsea.

Many felt the Blues were destined to struggle this season when they replace Mauricio Pochettino with Enzo Maresca.

However, barring the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on the opening weekend of the season, the west London side have looked strong.