Gianluca Scamacca’s contentious strike helped ensure West Ham made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since January with a 3-1 comeback victory over Fulham at the London Stadium.
With Aleksandar Mitrovic missing with a foot injury, Andreas Pereira took attacking responsibility with a stunning opener (5), but the Brazilian went from hero to villain when his foul inside the penalty area on Craig Dawson allowed Jarrod Bowen to level (29).
Marco Silva was furious with the decision to award the spot-kick – and he was further enraged when Scamacca’s composed finish after the restart (62) was allowed to stand despite a lengthy VAR delay to check for a handball from the striker.
Michail Antonio (90+1) added a third in stoppage time after a mix-up between Bernd Leno and Tim Ream as West Ham rose to 13th in the Premier League table. Fulham stay in ninth on 11 points after back-to-back defeats.
How Scamacca’s resolve was eventually rewarded
Fulham had alternated between victory and defeat in each of their previous six Premier League games, losing 4-1 at home to Newcastle last time out. The Cottagers’ three wins in this run was as many as they had managed in their previous 30 Premier League games combined – and they made a vibrant start in east London to lead inside five minutes.
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When Pereira was released Neeskens Kebano, there appeared very little on but Kurt Zouma invited the shot and from an acute angle the former Manchester United midfielder arrowed his finish emphatically across Lukasz Fabianski into the top corner.
Matters might have got worse for the Hammers when Dan James was also afforded far too much time by Declan Rice as his effort crashed against the crossbar on 14 minutes.
On their return to domestic action following their Europa Conference League exertions, in spite of the wholesale changes, West Ham looked off the pace but they – and in particular Lucas Paqueta – gradually asserted themselves.
It was the Brazilian’s cross which was headed goalwards by Scamacca but Bernd Leno produced a fine reflex save. Scamacca, seeking a third goal in as many games, then dragged a low shot wide from another Paqueta pass – but the hosts levelled following a moment of petulance from Pereira.
Referee Chris Kavanagh had warned the midfielder on more than one occasion as he tangled with Craig Dawson at a set piece but Pereira refused to heed the notice as a shirt pull led to inevitable circumstances.
Bowen dispatched his spot-kick with aplomb to bring up goals in consecutive league games. After a disjointed end to the half, it was West Ham who again carried the fight to Fulham as Scamacca headed Aaron Cresswell’s cross wide.
Just after the hour-mark came the game’s major talking point as West Ham – and Scamacca – were rewarded for their persistence. Paqueta was unsurprisingly the architect as his lofted pass found the ?35m Italian striker beyond the last defender, but his dinked finish initially appeared offside.
After a lengthy VAR delay which reviewed not only whether Scamacca was the wrong side of Bobby Decordova-Reid and indeed whether he handled the ball, the goal was given.
Silva turned to the club captain Tom Cairney – and the midfielder very nearly hauled his side level when his goalbound shot was hooked from virtually off the line by Aaron Cresswell.
Moyes injected further energy into his side as Antonio replaced Scamacca – and the substitute added extra gloss to the final scoreline in stoppage time as he outmuscled Palhinha to fire at Leno, but he wasn’t to be denied as the ball duly popped back out to his feet off the hapless Ream for a simple finish.
Analysis: West Ham finding their groove
Sky Sports’ Ben Grounds at the London Stadium:
Marco Silva’s promoted Fulham side have now lost four of their past six games. It has been a case of boom or bust with very little in between, in much the same way Bournemouth find themselves in a lofty perch in spite of their 9-0 hammering against Liverpool at the back end of August.
David Moyes challenged his own players to ‘show their worth’ as West Ham looked to climb the table, and after taking a while to get going, their superiority eventually told.
Following on from victory over Wolves last weekend, it is now just one defeat from their last five matches in all competitions. All the signs are there that the squad can become a competitive unit and Moyes now has plenty of depth to mount a sustained drive on all fronts.
After a slow start to the campaign, something which was not unfamiliar during his successful time at Everton, Moyes is moulding a group again that can live up to the club’s heightened ambitions.
Player of the match – Lucas Paqueta
Paqueta made an inauspicious start to his West Ham career having not completed a full 90 minutes prior to Sunday, and while he was withdrawn on 84 minutes here, it was by far his most complete display to date.
The Brazilian signed for a club record ?51.3m from Lyon created two chances and had four shots to go with his assist for Scamacca. There were other moments of class as he danced away from two Fulham players on the near touchline.
His dazzling feet are sure to make him a fans’ favourite in these parts.
Bowen: Confidence is high
Bowen has scored 19 of his 23 Premier League goals at the London Stadium (83 per cent); this is the highest ratio scored at a single stadium by any player with at least 20 goals in the competition’s history.
Bowen said: “It was tough, they started really well and we didn’t come out of the blocks at all. We dug in and got back into the game and we played some nice stuff. We’ve won all three games since the international break so confidence is high.
“We’ve got to be better at starting games because from being behind it is an uphill battle. It is down to us as players to start straight out of the blocks.”
Scamacca became the ninth player to score in both of his first two home starts in the Premier League for West Ham, and first since their move to the London Stadium, with Diafra Sakho the previous player to do so at Upton Park in October 2014
Bowen said of Scamacca: “You never know if you’re going to be offside or if you’ve handballed but you saw the celebrations when the goal was given. It was a great finish – him and Lucas [Paqueta] have definitely played their part. If you look at his [Scamacca’s] performances he’s definitely settled in now.”
Fulham’s poor derby record – Opta stats
West Ham have won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since January last season (three in a row). They had won just two of their previous 14 league games before this (D3 L9).Fulham remain winless in their last 16 London derbies in the Premier League away from home (D3 L13), losing all three this season (v Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham).West Ham won a Premier League game in which they had fallen behind for the first time in 2022 (P17 W1 D3 L13), having last done so against Watford in December 2021.At 4:47, Andreas Pereira’s opener for Fulham was the earliest Premier League goal West Ham have conceded at the London Stadium since March 2019, when now-West Ham defender Kurt Zouma scored against them for Everton (4:02).
What’s next?
West Ham return to the Europa Conference League with a home game against Anderlecht on Thursday night, before travelling to Southampton next Sunday.
Fulham host Bournemouth next Saturday before returning to Craven Cottage on October 20 for the visit of Aston Villa.