1. The home scalps keep on coming
Since Yoane Wissa struck an injury-time winner for Brentford at London Stadium on 3 October, West Ham United’s home form has been outstanding.
In truth, even on that day Brentford stole the points late on, David Moyes’ men deserved far more than they got.
But in the six games in E20 which have followed, West Ham have won five and drawn the other.
And it is not just the results which have caught the eye, but the level of opposition which has been dispatched along the way.
Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Chelsea marked the Blues’ first away Premier League defeat of the season and meant they joined Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in leaving London Stadium defeated in the last six weeks alone.
When you add the UEFA Europa League victory over Genk into the mix too, the Hammers’ home crowd have had plenty to cheer this Autumn – and they certainly did cheer on Saturday, , with Vladimír Coufal saying how much the atmosphere spurred the team on
2. Goals galore against a stingy defence
Before Saturday, Chelsea had only conceded two goals or more in the same Premier League game twice under Thomas Tuchel’s management.
That run stretched to 33 games, and nobody had breached their defence more than once this term heading into their trip to London Stadium.
But that all changed as the Hammers repeatedly tore up the script, twice coming from behind to level through Manuel Lanzini’s penalty and Jarrod Bowen’s fizzing low strike, before Arthur Masuaku won it late on with his spectacular late goal.
West Ham United have now notched 28 goals in their 15 Premier League games this season – leaving us on pace to score 71 over the course of the full campaign.
Such a figure would comfortably surpass the Premier League Club record of 65 set in 2015/16, and the 62 we registered last year. After breaking down the division’s stingiest defence on Saturday, Moyes and his side will be confident of more heading into the Christmas period.
3. Brilliant Bowen
Jarrod Bowen’s influence on West Ham United’s attacking play has been steadily growing as the season has gone on – and that was clearly evident on Saturday against the Blues.
Ever since reporting back for the Hammers’ July pre-season camp in St Andrews looking sharp and notching in that first friendly at Dundee, he has been a real livewire for defences wherever he has played.
Alongside his goal against Chelsea – a fizzing low strike from 18 yards which flew through Andreas Christensen’s legs and left Édouard Mendy with no chance – he was a constant menace for the visitors, pressing high to disrupt their rhythm and using his ball-carrying skills to move the Hammers up the pitch.
It was that harrying nature that led to his team’s first leveller, as he left Mendy with no room to operate in from Jorginho’s underhit backpass, ultimately forcing the Senegal goalkeeper to foul him and allow Manuel Lanzini the chance to score from the spot.
His tally of four shots was the highest of any player on the pitch, while nobody matched his tally of 25 sprints – it was a performance to savour from the No20.
4. Contributions all over the squad
Manuel Lanzini and Issa Diop were both handed their first Premier League starts of the season by David Moyes on Saturday, while Arthur Masuaku’s introduction from the bench in first-half stoppage time was just his fourth league involvement this term.
Would there be any rustiness from those members of the Hammers squad less involved in league action this term? Not a bit of it.
While the Hammers have been able to field a largely settled side across the opening 15 games of their Premier League campaign, the players waiting for their opportunity have been able to keep themselves sharp across our successful UEFA Europa League and Carabao Cup campaigns.
And their readiness came to the fore on Saturday, with Lanzini marking that first league start since May by notching from the penalty spot five minutes before half-time.
Then, three minutes from time, Masuaku was alert to take a quick throw in to Michail Antonio, receive the return pass and beat Mendy with an arrow of a cross-shot into the top left-hand corner of the net.
Masukau has had to wait 96 games to register his first Premier League goal in Claret & Blue, but an 87th minute winner against Chelsea in those circumstances - it was certainly worth the wait.