Graham Potter marked his Premier League managerial debut with West Ham United by guiding the Hammers to a crucial 3-2 win over Fulham at the London Stadium on Tuesday night.
The result means West Ham now reside in 12th in the table with 26 points, just two behind 10th-placed Brentford, while Fulham remain in ninth with 30 points, seeing them fall further behind sixth-placed Manchester City in the battle for a European spot.
The first 45 minutes were absolutely electric as both teams brilliantly battled back and forth to take control of the match, with Fulham twice hitting the post and West Ham having a goal ruled out for offside before Carlos Soler and Tomas Soucek struck twice in 130 seconds to put the Hammers firmly in the lead heading into half time.
Fulham came flying out from the restart, searching for an instant way back into the match, and they got exactly that when Alex Iwobi's cross evaded everyone inside the West Ham box and trickled past the stranded Lukas Fabianski, pulling one back for the Cottagers just six minutes into the second half.
However, Fulham were caught out attempting to play out from the back for the second time in the game when Bernd Leno's hesitation on his left-foot resulted in West Ham winning the ball back from the keeper, with Lucas Paqueta firing into the gaping net to restore their two-goal advantage with just 20 minutes remaining.
There was to be another twist in the tale of this highly-entertaining matchup as Iwobi scored a virtual carbon copy of his first, with an attempted cross this time evading Harry Wilson's attempted header and once again bouncing past Fabianski to get Fulham within one-goal of the Hammers, but that proved to be the final goal as West Ham managed to hold out and secure a vital victory.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
West Ham were far from the dominant side in this game, taking just four shots to Fulham's 21, but Potter and his team will certainly not care as they secured a superb victory in the manager's first match at the London Stadium.
The increased intent on pressing is clear to see for the Hammers, with two of their three goals coming as a direct result of their harrying of the Fulham defence, a positive sign of things to come for West Ham as Potter gradually gets more training time with his men.
In contrast to the hosts, Marco Silva will be hugely disappointed with his side's defeat, as they dominated the match but were twice the architects of their own downfall by gifting West Ham two goals while attempting to build from the back.
The Fulham boss will also be concerned by their lack of composure and inability to finish chances, as the Cottagers failed to capitalize on 21 shots compared to West Ham's four, while both their goals came from attempted crosses.
The promising signs are still there for Fulham, though, with another encouraging performance, particularly from Antonee Robinson and Iwobi, and they remain firmly in the race for a European spot.
WEST HAM VS. FULHAM HIGHLIGHTS
Carlos Soler goal vs. Fulham (31st min, West Ham 1-0 Fulham)
West Ham with the opener 🔥@WestHam capitalise from a poor pass to take the lead in East London 🚀
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/im8ytYThHB
West Ham have the lead, absolutely superb from Soler!
Andreas Pereira receives possession just outside his box and looks to switch play to the right side, but his pass is extremely underhit and allows Soler to race onto the ball.
The midfielder wonderfully strikes the ball with a first-time half volley, his effort curling back across the keeper and into the bottom right corner to give the Hammers the lead.
Tomas Soucek goal vs. Fulham (33rd min, West Ham 2-0 Fulham)
JUST LIKE THAT IT'S 2-0 😱
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Two goals in two minutes for @WestHam as Tomáš Souček grabs their second 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/77GFRAPjEC
West Ham are absolutely flying, Soucek adds a second in a matter of minutes!
Fulham are caught out behind their defence by a long, searching ball forward, with Mohammed Kudus getting hold of possession and racing towards the box, where he cuts from right to left and passes to Soler.
The Spaniard picks out Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the back post, where the full-back fantastically pulls his cross back for Soucek to fire his shot into the floor, sending it bouncing into the back of the net.
Alex Iwobi goal vs. West Ham (51st min, West Ham 2-1 Fulham)
Fulham are BACK in it 🔥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
A swooping ball in from Alex Iwobi finds the net for @FulhamFC. What a start to the second half 👏
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/93fGq19Mbn
Fulham are right back in this game, Iwobi with the goal!
Robinson surges down the left side and releases the ball to Iwobi on the wing, where the midfielder swings in a cross to Raul Jimenez inside the box.
Jimenez fails to get a touch on Iwobi's cross, but the ball still manages to creep past Fabianski and into the net to give Fulham a way back into the match.
Lucas Paqueta goal vs. Fulham (67th min, West Ham 3-1 Fulham)
"A howler by Leno, and an absolute present for Paquetá"@WestHam are gifted another goal in the derby after a mistake by Bernd Leno sees Lucas Paquetá grab a third for his side 🔥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/3VSGey7KEV
What has Leno done, Paqueta is gifted West Ham's third!
Fulham have comfortable possession as they play it back to Leno, but the goalkeeper takes too long as Danny Ings puts on the pressure and the resulting ball is spilled to Paqueta's feet.
The Brazilian wastes no time with his finish, curling his strike into the empty net to restore West Ham's two-goal advantage.
Alex Iwobi goal vs. West Ham (78th min, West Ham 3-2 Fulham)
IWOBI GETS HIS SECOND 🔥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
If in doubt do it again! Alex Iwobi gets his second of the night with another floating cross into the net 😅
📺 @tntsport & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/5F0zJHjcCI
Iwobi scores again with another attempted cross, absolutely unbelievable!
Iwobi receives possession in a similar area to his first goal, and the midfielder again looks to play a chipped cross into the box for Wilson to head into the net.
The forward fails to make contact with the cross, but Iwobi's effort once again evades Fabianski and bounces into the net to give Fulham their second of the match.
MAN OF THE MATCH - ALEX IWOBI
© Imago
Despite ultimately being on the losing side, Iwobi produced an exceptional performance for Fulham tonight, including two bizarre unintentional goals.
The midfielder twice netted goals from attempted crosses, with the ball evading everyone in the box before bouncing into the net, while also creating one big chance and making five key passes in his 85 minutes on the pitch.
Iwobi also showed his defensive ability, making one tackle and winning a superb five duels as he valiantly battled throughout the game.
WEST HAM VS. FULHAM MATCH STATS
Possession: West Ham 44%-56% Fulham
Shots: West Ham 4-21 Fulham
Shots on target: West Ham 3-5 Fulham
Corners: West Ham 0-3 Fulham
Fouls: West Ham 9-18 Fulham
BEST STATS
West Ham have scored with both of their first two shots in the Premier League under Graham Potter.
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) January 14, 2025
Carlos Soler 🤝 Tomas Souček#WHUFUL pic.twitter.com/4gtLmPjUKC
Only Mo Salah and Bukayo Saka have provided more assists than Antonee Robinson (9) in the Premier League this season 🤩
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Impact from left-back. pic.twitter.com/ofxUyD6ymC
WHAT NEXT?
West Ham will remain at their home ground as they now prepare to take on Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon for matchday 22 of the 2024-25 Premier League season.
Meanwhile, Fulham's travels are set to continue with the Cottagers gearing up to face relegation-battling Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Ellis Stevens
