West Ham continued their recent resurgence under David Moyes with a 3-0 win against Stoke City on Saturday afternoon. The result was the Hammers' second win under the former-Everton boss, having beaten Premier League holders Chelsea before recording a strong point against Arsenal.
West Ham continue promising form with a win against Stoke
David Moyes' side were at it from the off, showing energy and determination to hunt the ball down in packs and regain possession. Captain Mark Noble set the Hammers on their way inside the opening 20 minutes after Manuel Lanzini was brought down inside the area - a contentious decision from the home side's point of view.
Marko Arnautovic bagged another important goal, combining brilliantly with West Ham's No.10 whose lobbed through ball set the forward through on goal down the right-hand side. Drilling to ball past the onrushing goalkeeper, the Austrian delivered the perfect response to a hostile reception at the Bet365 stadium.
The 28-year-old's 'irons' symbol at the full-time whistle before heading straight down the tunnel added further misery to the home fans, with the former-Stoke man proving to be an important figure under Moyes.
So often the catalyst to West Ham's victories, Lanzini's performance oozed class on Saturday, with the creative midfielder providing another assist to make the scores 0-3. Winding through Stoke's defence, Lanzini's close control freed up space for Diafra Sakho down the middle, with the striker converting easily when put through on goal.
Pressure growing on Mark Hughes as Potters plummet towards relegation zone
Saturday's result means Stoke have lost five of their last six games, conceding the most goals in the league. That's inevitably seen pressure grow on Mark Hughes' shoulders, with just a point seperating The Potters from the relegation zone.
Defensively, they've kept just one clean sheet in their last 16 league games, with a soft core proving detrimental to their form of late. Such fortunes have come about in the attacking third too, with an overreliance on Xherdan Shaqiri to create and score the lion's share of goals for Hughes' side. Unsupported by the club's other attacking options, Stoke recorded 0 shots on targets, failing to muster any kind of pressure on the West Ham defence.
Something will need to change, and fast, if the mood is to brighten around Stoke City. Failure to do so could see Mark Hughes shafted and The Potters slump to the relegation zone.