Graham Potter grabbed his first win as West Ham United manager in a 5 goal thriller vs Marco Silva’s Fulham.
Under pressure throughout the first half and hour of the match, the Irons were lucky to find a breakthrough through Carlos Soler, who fired the ball past Leno for the opener - opening his West Ham goalscoring account.
Minutes later, Tomas Soucek extended his sides lead to 2-0 just before half-time thanks to some delightful passing from both Soler and Wan-Bissaka in the box.
Starting strong in the second half, Fulham clawed one back thanks to both Alex Iwobi and some dreadful keeping from Fabianski in goal.
However, the Hammers would just not allow the visitors to be comfortable, with Leno crumbling under the pressure and mistakingly passing the ball to Lucas Paqueta, whom rifled the Hammers 3-1 up.
Fulham restored their 1-goal disadvantage quickly, with Iwobi somehow finding the back of the net yet again.
A late miss by Adama Traore secured all 3-points for West Ham in Graham Potter’s first win in East London.
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Story of the match
Making three changes from his side that lost to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday night, Graham Potter was forced to rotate the limited squad to accommodate for the many injuries the Hammers had sustained as of late.
For the visitors, five changes were made from the starting XI that dominated Watford 4-1 in their FA Cup Third Round tie.
With Traore, Muniz, Sessegnon, Cuenca and Benda all replaced, Marco Silva was ready to extend Fulham’s impressive 9-match uneaten run.
Starting the game off looking shaky, the Hammers were under immense pressure with the travelling side coming close to opening the scoring after a rifling shot from Harry Wilson collided with the crossbar, keeping the score goalless at 0-0.
Continuing to soak up the pressure, the Hammers defence were forced back and had to be on their A-game to prevent Fulham’s potent attack, with Max Kilman blocking a fierce effort from Smith-Rowe early on.
From defence to attack, Graham Potter’s men thought they had taken the lead thanks to a Max Kilman after a delightful free-kick from Carlos Soler found the defender, scrambling the ball into the back of the net for the opener.
Unfortunately for Potters' side, their celebrations were cut short after an extensively long VAR check concluded an offside offence from the Irons goal-scorer, revoking the goal and denying the Hammers the lead.
It seemed that the VAR decision had given Potter’s side momentum however, as minutes later the deadlock was finally broken as Fulham’s Andreas Pereira cheaply gave the ball away in the box, finding the feet of Carlos Soler who’s right-footed shot flew past Leno and into the back of the net for 1-0.
The Irons quickly extended their lead minutes later after some sensational play between Soler and Wan-Bissaka in the box found the Hammers no.29 crossing the ball to the foot of captain Soucek, rifling the ball above Leno and crashing into the roof of the net for 2-0.
Despite Potter’s side leading 2-0, Silva's side were still pushing for their first goal of the evening, coming close just before half-time, after Jimenez’s effort rattled against the bar for the second time in the first 45’.
A perfect start to the second half for the visitors saw Alex Iwobi pick the ball up outside the area, and cheekily chip the ball into the penalty area, somehow trickling past Fabianski and into the back of the net - a lifeline for Marco Silva and his men.
Minutes later, a poor foul from Wan-Bissaka on Castagne just outside the box won Fulham a promising free-kick in a dangerous area.
Stepping up to take the set-piece, Pereira was unfortunate to rifle hi shot straight into the West Ham wall, clearing the ball away and diverting Fulham’s dangerous attack.
The home side finally extended their lead in the 67th minute thanks to some delightful pressing from Danny Ings upfront, causing Leno to misplace his pass into the feet of the Hammers striker, deflecting the ball to Paqueta on the edge of the box, firing the ball into the back of the net for a 2-goal-advantage.
From here, the Hammers sat back, defending their lead whilst Fulham’s forwards continued to press the home sides defence.
Continuing to drive up the pitch and test Potter’s backline, Fulham reduced the deficit to one yet again as Iwobi lofted the ball into the box, catching Fabianski out and somehow dropping over the line and into the goal for 3-2.
With tensions rising in the last 10 minutes of the 90, Fabianski was forced to make a crucial save, clawing Raul Jimenez’s shot away from goal to keep his side infront.
With the chance to kill the game off, substitute Aaron Cresswell delivered a superb inswingng free-kick into the box, meeting the head of Danny Ings but scathing millimetres away from goal to deny the Irons their fourth of the evening.
Only four minutes remaining of the six additional minutes added, Fulham were beginning to crowd the Hammers penalty box.
Passing the ball around in the box for fun, Josh King quickly glided past Wan-Bissaka, crossing the ball across the penalty box, deflecting off Scarles, only to be found by Adama Traore, whom with Fulham’s last attempt on goal, blazed it over the bar - concluding the Cottages fate and earning West Ham a well deserved 3 points!
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Player of the match - Lucas Paqueta
Back to his best under Graham Potter, the Brazilian was able to make it 2 from 2, winning the match for the Hammers and putting in a superb performance on the pitch against a tough opposition.
