Moments after a woeful West Ham United side conceded their fifth goal in 43 minutes against Chelsea, a young supporter in the lower tier of the West Stand mounted a solo pitch invasion in protest. While stewards attempted to tackle the youngster an older supporter felt compelled to intervene in defiance that the actions were justified.
It prompted loud cheers from the stands, a realisation there was passion and fight after all, just not from the XI players they paid to watch. The duo were eventually escorted out of the London Stadium and the stewards displayed better defending than West Ham had.
Chelsea's attacking potency swept away Graham Potter's side and it could have been even worse had the visitors not been so profligate late on. Eight goals is the most West Ham have conceded in their two opening games of a top-flight season. It is an ignominious record and a reflection of the club's decline.
The chastening 5-1 defeat, to add to the 3-0 humbling away to newly promoted Sunderland on the opening weekend of the season, highlights how porous the defence remains, the lack of squad depth and the inevitability of this season being a relegation fight. Of the 21 league games Potter has presided over, West Ham have a paltry return of three clean sheets. Potter's team urgently requires reinforcements.
"The manner of the goals were too cheap and too soft," the head coach said in his post-match press conference. "After a great start (through Lucas Paqueta's opener in the sixth minute) the first goal (from a corner) we conceded set the tone for the goals. When you do that especially against a top side like Chelsea it's impossible.We have to do better because you can't defend the box and concede goals like we did.
"I know the players care and are desperate to do well. But sometimes in football, and in life, you hit a patch where it's tough. We arrived at Sunderland with optimism and we've had a smash on the nose. We faced Chelsea who have talented players and it was a tough game for us. You're under pressure all the time in these jobs. In this situation that's how it is. I know the territory and what comes with poor results. I accept my responsibility."
Potter has taken fewer points in his first 10 home Premier League games in charge of West Ham than any other manager in the club's history. He forlornly stared at the turf before shaking his head after Enzo Fernandez scored Chelsea's third goal. Captain Jarrod Bowen shouted at his team-mates but it failed to evoke a response -- he told Sky Sports after the game he was "fuming" with their start to the season.
The players were greeted to boos at half-time and Potter's countenance after Fernandez's goal was not too dissimilar to Chelsea's fourth, courtesy of Moises Caicedo. There was a mass exodus after Trevoh Chalobah's strike and angry gestures directed towards the dugout. The visiting enclosure thrived, chorusing "West Ham are shit, ole ole" and "you're going down".
In midweek, Potter and Bowen had made impassioned pleas that the squad would bounce back. So their encouraging start initially had the desired effect. The lead lasted nine minutes and the players appear no closer to coping with adversity than they were last season.
They conceded four goals in 48 minutes against Manchester City in January, five in 45 minutes against Arsenal in November, four in 24 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur in October and four in 23 minutes against Liverpool (in the EFL Cup) in September.
Potter can continue to bemoan the manner of the defending but he is yet to find solutions. He fielded the defensive trio of Nayef Aguerd, Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo, who cost a combined total of £102.8million, but their stock continues to nosedive. Another pressing concern is how threadbare they are in central defence. Konstantions Mavropanos, who has endured his struggles too, is the only available back-up. With nine days remaining in the transfer window, there are a multitude of problems.
The midfield remains weak with available options too ponderous. The pairing against Chelsea was James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek but neither left any lasting impressions. Academy graduate Freddie Potts made his Premier League debut, but did so under difficult circumstances.
With Edson Alvarez close to finalising a season-long loan to Fenerbahce, Southampton midfielder Mateus Fernandes could be his replacement. But following a failed £30m offer, the Championship club remain adamant they have not received an improved bid.
Summer signing Callum Wilson received a smattering of boos when he was introduced at half-time -- a reminder he is not entirely forgiven for his previous critical views of West Ham in his podcast with former forward Michail Antonio. But the only other attacking option from the bench was youngster Callum Marshall, who is yet to play in the Premier League.
Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen joined for £20m from relegated side Leicester City to dislodge Alphonse Areola but the 25-year-old from Denmark has made glaring errors in each of the first two games. It reached a nadir for the new signing when supporters sarcastically applauded Hermansen saving Estevao's deflected shot.
Post-match, former striker Tony Cottee tweeted he missed the defeat having attended Coldplay's concert. Given West Ham's results, perhaps the lyrics of Fix You resonated most. These are bleak times for the club and their sales pitch to potential transfer targets has only got harder.
West Ham have upcoming league games against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, Everton, Arsenal and Brentford. It is not outlandish to say Potter's side may lose all of them. This season was supposed to be the start of the fresh era but a vortex of dejection continues to swell around the London Stadium.