West Ham ran out emphatic 4-0 winners at Bournemouth – a result which went a long way towards ensuring their Premier League safety, moving them six points clear of the relegation zone and one ahead of the Cherries.
Michail Antonio's 5th-minute header from close-range after a corner set the visitors on their way at the Vitality Stadium, with Lucas Paqueta adding a header of his own just seven minutes later.
Captain, Declan Rice, added a third just before half-time with an emphatic half volley as Bournemouth failed to deal with another corner from the left side, putting the game to bed before the break.
An audacious scorpion kick from Pablo Fornals added further gloss to the final scoreline and condemned a fairly lacklustre Bournemouth side to a heavy home defeat.
-
Starting Line Ups:
Bournemouth: Manager: Gary O'Neil
Starting 11: Neto, Lloyd Kelly, Jack Stephens, Chris Mepham, Marcus Tavernier, Jefferson Lerma, Joe Rothwell, Adam Smith, Ryan Christie, Philip Billing, Dominic Solanke.
Substitutes: Kieffer Moore, Dango Ouatarra, Jaidon Anthony, Matias Vina, Lewis Cook, Antoine Semenyo, Ilya Zabarnyi, Marcos Senesi, Mark Travers.
West Ham: Manager: David Moyes
Starting 11: Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Aaron Cresswell, Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Michail Antonio.
Substitutes: Danny Ings, Pablo Fornals, Flynn Downes, Maxwell Cornet, Thilo Kehrer, Manuel Lanzini, Angelo Ogbonna, Emerson, Alphonse Areola.
-
Story of the Match:
West Ham began the game well, picking up a corner within the first five minutes. This would lead to a dream start for Moyes' side with Antonio thumping home a powerful header from the near post from Cresswell's corner kick into the area. Once again, set pieces would be the thorn in Bournemouth's side, an area in which they've struggled to defend all season.
It would get even better for the travelling supporters in the 12th minute. Tavernier was easily dispossessed by Bowen. The winger found Coufal overlapping on the far right hand side. The Czech Republic international delivered a brilliant floated ball into the box which was met by Paqueta at the far post, who skilfully diverted his header past the helpless Neto.
The score was now 2-0 to the away side in 12 minutes, with the Cherries left with a mountain to climb.
Bournemouth knew they had to score the next goal if there was any chance that they could gain points from the match.
They very nearly did with a quick flurry of chances. The first came from a Rothwell corner, where Mepham could not divert his header into the corner, leaving Fabianski with a comfortable save.
The next came as Christie did well to beat two defenders to Smith's through ball. The Scotsman cut back a dangerous ball across the area but no one could connect.
The final and best chance came from Lerma. As the ball rebounded to him, the Colombian midfielder fired a fierce drive towards the top-left corner. The Bournemouth supporters behind began to celebrate as the ball looked destined to hit the net. However, Fabianski showed great skill and athleticism to push the ball away and deny Lerma from what would have been an incredible goal.
The Cherries were creating chances, but were lacking quality in front of goal.
Few chances would follow up until the 43rd minute, when West Ham would score a third and eliminate any chance of a comeback from the home side.
Another corner was not dealt with well by Bournemouth. Soucek flicked on the header at the near post and the ball fell at the feet of Rice. The England international connected with the ball brilliantly on the half volley, easily beating Neto and capping off a near perfect first 45 for the visitors.
The second half began with more West Ham chances, first from Antonio and then Benrahma.
Neto dealt well with Antonio's chance and Mepham's crucial touch on the ball denied the Jamaican a second goal and West Ham's fourth. Neto would do well once again with Benrahma's efforts saving both comfortably.
Bournemouth had created very little, but one massive chance came via striker Moore, who replaced Rothwell on the 46th minute. Moore did well to get away from Aguerd and fired a good shot on goal from the edge of the box, only to see his effort saved by Fabianksi.
West Ham made matters worse for the Cherries on the 72nd minute with a brilliant piece of brilliance and ingenuity from Fornals, who replaced Benrahma in the 65th minute.
Stephens' pass out of defence was poor and easily intercepted by Rice. He played a lovely scooped ball over to Bowen who was free on the right wing. He took on and beat two defenders and crossed the ball into the penalty area. The ball was directed just behind Fornals, but the Spaniard showed brilliant athleticism and technical ability to connect with the ball with a scorpion kick and divert it past Neto into the bottom left corner.
Heading into the last couple of minutes, it looked as though it could get even worse for the Cherries, as Cornet went on a good run and finished well into the bottom left for a fifth. However, VAR intervened leaving the score at 4-0 and that was how it would finish on the south coast.
The result moves the Hammers into 13th place on 34 points, while Bournemouth are 15th on 33 points and have a big game coming up on Thursday, which could determine their survival, against south coast rivals Southampton at St Marys.
-
Player of the Match: Lukasz Fabianski
In a 4-0 away win it is unusual to give player of the match to a goalkeeper.
However, Fabianski is more than deserving of the accolade. The 38 year old made five crucial saves for his side, with three diving stops and two big saves made inside the box.
His individual performance kept a clean sheet for his side and denied the hosts of ever thinking that they could mount a comeback.
Match Stats
Possession: Bournemouth 65% - 35% West Ham
Total Shots: Bournemouth 17 - 18 West Ham
Expected Goals: Bournemouth 1.52 - 2.43 West Ham
Big Chances: Bournemouth 1 - 3 West Ham
Big Chances Missed: Bournemouth 1-0 West Ham
Accurate Passes: Bournemouth 560 (87%) - 278 (78%) West Ham
Fouls Committed: Bournemouth 7-8 West Ham
Corners: Bournemouth 8-5 West Ham