14 January 2025
West Ham 3 Fulham 2
Graham Potter took charge of his first Premier League game as West Ham manager. The London Stadium was the venue as they welcomed Fulham. Marco Silva’s side have been inconsistent at best but draws had been costing them dearly of late. The Hammers were hoping to get back to winning ways after exiting the FA Cup against Aston Villa in the new manager’s first game.
Strikers are becoming cursed for The Hammers. Both Antonio and Fullkrug are long-term absentees, meaning that Ings was getting a rare start in the team. The visitors started the brighter of the two teams as Iwobi started causing problems down the left wing, giving Wan-Bissaka all sorts of issues as he turned him inside out.
The former Arsenal winger lifted the ball into the box to pick out Wilson. The midfielder met it on the volley, only to see his shot thunder against the crossbar and come back into play. Silva held his head in his hands, trying to work out how his side had not taken the lead. He had seen this all too often from his team and it had cost them points as a result.
Like most teams in the current game of football, The Cottagers looked to play it out from the back. A loose pass from Pereira presented the ball to Soler and he drilled his shot into the far corner to break the deadlock. The London Stadium exploded into a cauldron of noise as The Hammers scored against the run of play in the capital.
Every single round of matches, we see sides give away goals as they try to pass it out from goal kicks like they are peak Barcelona. You wonder what the breaking point will be where either a coach or a manager realises that they do not have the players to execute their vision. Done badly it just invites pressure, done terribly it gifts your opponent’s goals.
The goal seemed to give the hosts an injection of adrenaline. Potter’s side flooded forward once more and Wan-Bissaka cut the ball back from the byline for Soucek to smash home. In the space of two minutes, The Hammers had put themselves in control of the game. Everything was going according to plan for Graham Potter.
Fulham continued to try and find a way back into the game. Iwobi was the architect once again as his cross found Jimenez at the back post. The Mexican’s header clipped the top of the crossbar as it went over the target. West Ham headed into the break with a comfortable lead but it did not tell the true tale of this game.
Soon after the restart, The Cottagers continued to ask questions of the hosts. Iwobi found himself with time and space out wide as he clipped a ball into Jimenez. The Fulham striker could not get a touch on it but just his presence was enough to put off Fabianski as it beat both of them and ended up in the back of the net.
Just as the visitors seemed to have a foothold in the game, they resorted to type and tried to play out from the back. Ings closed down Leno and his loose pass went straight to Paqueta who passed the ball into an empty net. If Fulham are still playing this style in their next game on the weekend, the club should force Marco Silva to undergo tests on his mental capacity.
Then lightning struck once again. Iwobi lifted a ball into the box towards Wilson. As he looked to head it towards goal, the Welshman completely missed it. However, it bounced in front of Fabianski and ended up in the back of the net. Twice in the game, the winger seemingly lifted innocuous balls into the box that he ended up scoring from.
Marco Silva brought on youngster Joshua King as they looked to turn the screw on a nervy-looking West Ham. He got to the byline and squared it across the six-yard box. Lukic missed it completely at the near post and Traore hacked his effort over the crossbar as The Cottagers wasted a big chance to get something from this game.
If Graham Potter wondered the size of the challenge he had undertaken, now he was more than fully aware. His side look a complete shambles defensively and give their opponents far too many opportunities in games. Not even the best attacks in Europe could outscore the goals they are conceding, which is proving to be a big problem for The Hammers.
Fortunately for the hosts, time ran out for Fulham. They were the ones left to rue their missed opportunities. Victory saw Potter’s side move above Man Utd in the Premier League table. Fulham remain in the top half of the table but no doubt their manager will be hoping to add some reinforcements during the transfer window.
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