After the so very successful 2020/21 Premier League season, the expectations from West Ham United have raised drastically as their opening games were meant to be easier than usual.

And although the transfer business concluded after the opening games were played, the pre-season form and fitness of players such as Said Benrahma, Michail Antonio or Pablo Fornals, have poised the Hammers to a very strong start.

Newcastle United 2-4 West Ham - 15/8/21

West Ham's opening fixture of the 21/22 season saw them face a tricky trip up to St. James' Park to take on Newcastle. On paper, most football fans and pundits predicted a West Ham win and this proved to be the case as after a tricky start and with the defence struggling to contain Allan Saint-Maximin, David Moyes' men found themselves 2-1 down at halftime.

The second half started and Moyes' words of wisdom at halftime sparked a second-half comeback as strikes from Said Benrahma, Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio, and an excellent display from Declan Rice, West Ham ran out as eventual winners 2-4. 

Match Rating: 8/10

Man of the Match: Declan Rice

West Ham 4-1 Leicester City - 23/8/21

The Hammer's first home game of the season was against a tough opponent in Leicester, who finished one spot above West Ham in the season previous, in fifth. It was a tough fixture on paper and the match could of went either way, but with a full London Stadium roaring the team on under the lights, Moyes' men used this to their advantage and crushed the away team 4-1. After a well-worked Pablo Fornals goal in the first half, Leicester's Ayoze Perez was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on the aforementioned Fornals. The hosts doubled their lead shortly after the second half, with Antonio pouncing on a mistake from the Leicester defence to give Benrahma his second goal of the season.

The Foxes rallied and scored a goal completely against the run of play through Youri Tielemans. Antonio then wrote himself in the West Ham history books, by scoring his 48th Premier League goal for the club making him the highest scorer in West Ham's Premier League history, overtaking the great Paulo Di Canio. The brilliant Jamaican added another goal before the end of the game, seeing West Ham leaving with three well-earned points, and top of the league.

Match Rating; 10/10

Man of the Match: Michail Antonio

West Ham 2-2 Crystal Palace - 28/8/21

The league leaders welcomed Crystal Palace to the London Stadium on a sunny afternoon in East London. After an average to a poor start to the season by Palace and a flying start for The Hammers, most plaudits were tipping West Ham for a routine win. This was not the case however as after a positive start for West Ham with an extremely well-worked goal from Pablo Fornals.

Patrick Viera's men rebounded quickly after halftime, with summer signing Conor Gallagher scoring his first goal for the club. Ten minutes later the man of the moment Michail Antonio restored the hosts' leads with a brilliant finish at the near post. West Ham's defensive issues showed, however, as two minutes later Gallagher strikes again. West Ham players were disappointed with the draw and with the arrival of Kurt Zouma, Hammers fans will hope to not see a repeat of this result.

Match Rating: 5/10

Man of the Match: Conor Gallagher

August Verdict

Overall, as a West Ham fan myself, I am very happy with the team's start to the season. I think I speak on behalf of the majority of West Ham fans, if we were offered 7 points out of 9 and second in the league going into the international break, we would have been more than happy. It was great to see the front four workings in unison and our own Micky Antonio breaking the goalscoring record.

In conclusion, it was a very positive month for the Hammers and with new faces and European football on the horizon, we will hope it continues!

 

VAVEL Logo
About the author