Chelsea fans were treated to a debut for one of their summer signings against West Ham, and they weren't disappointed.
Wesley Fofana was chucked straight into the action and given a full home debut by Thomas Tuchel in a bid to shore up what has been a leaky defence so far this season. The Frenchman was unable to help keep a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge but was unable to do much about either goal, with both coming from more backline errors.
The new No.33 had a trusty partner alongside him at the back, as he started with the experienced Thiago Silva to his left and Chelsea's current star Reece James on his right.
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It helped contribute a sense of relative comfort for Chelsea, who cruised through most of the match without giving David Moyes' side much to work with, but they also failed to contribute going forward. It allowed Fofana a low-key debut, especially with talismanic Michail Antonio choosing to target Silva for height instead of Fofana.
He ended the match with a good set of statistics which back up his solid performance, playing the second most passes on the pitch with 92 - double that of every West Ham player, at an impressive completion rate of 89.1%.
When called upon, the 21-year-old showed frightening speed to recover and also kept up the aggressive outside centre-back role that Antonio Rudiger left behind. With three tackles - the joint most on the pitch - and two clearances, Fofana, whilst not clearly tested by a blunted Hammers attack, was impressive nonetheless.
The highlight of his game was actually the reaction he showed to Kai Havertz's late winner. Appearing in the midfield as Ben Chilwell attacked, Fofana sunk to his knees when Havertz volleyed in and looked to the sky in joy.
His display of passion matched that of Marc Cucurella who, following Conor Gallagher's red card against Leicester last weekend, was visually frustrated by his own role in the move.
Although passion alone doesn't win matches, seeing Fofana in his new home and celebrating with such emotion is something Blues fans will love to see, especially after a London derby victory.
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