Joelinton scored a brace to help Newcastle produce one of the high-scoring football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Callum Wilson, who was chosen instead of Alexander Isak, scored after only five minutes, then Joelinton doubled the lead when VAR intervened to overrule an incorrectly raised flag for offside. West Ham threatened to make a game of it when Kurt Zouma cut the lead before halftime, but a terrible mistake from Nayef Aguerd while playing out from the back allowed Wilson to tap in for 3-1. Lukasz Fabianski made some excellent saves in the second half, but he was largely to blame for Newcastle’s fourth goal, misjudging a long ball outside his box, and Isak chipped home into an empty net before Joelinton finished the thrashing.
The goal was not seen by many West Ham fans, who had long made their way to the exits while the few who remained booed manager David Moyes as he came back down the tunnel at full-time. The victory retains Newcastle in third place in the Premier League, three points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand. Meanwhile, West Ham sits perilously above the relegation zone, but only on goal difference, as Moyes comes under increasing pressure.
In the early minutes, it was difficult to tell which team was chasing Champions League football, as West Ham struck a post inside 30 seconds when Jarrod Bowen’s cross was diverted towards his own goal by Bruno Guimaraes. Despite their strong play, West Ham fell behind in the opening five minutes, with Newcastle scoring on their first attack. Wilson was left with yards of room in the center and headed home from 12 yards after Allan Saint-Maximin delivered the quality from the right.
Newcastle extended their lead nine minutes later. Fabian Schar broke the West Ham offside trap by playing a brilliant pass over the top for Joelinton to speed through and finish past Fabianski. The offside flag was raised, but the replay showed that Joelinton was at least two yards onside, and VAR overturned the incorrect on-field judgment. West Ham and their fans could have disintegrated in the face of their relegation, but they held together and kept digging. That effort was rewarded as Zouma soared above a flailing Nick Pope to rocket a header home and reignite hope of a comeback.
West Ham looked prepared to put pressure on Newcastle after the break, but they shot themselves in the foot inside a minute of the resumption. Aguerd, the match-winner against Southampton on Sunday, wasted too long playing out from the back, and Jacob Murphy pounced on him before squaring one to Wilson, who couldn’t miss. Murphy and later Saint-Maximin exploited West Ham’s willingness to press higher, causing havoc on the counter-attack. Both players were denied by outstanding saves from Fabianksi, who then blotted his copybook by handing Isak the fourth goal with eight minutes remaining in a period in which the Hammers had only one chance on goal.
“It was a challenging game. I thought coming here on the high of Sunday would be a psychological challenge. We weren’t at our best, but we were clinical today, something we haven’t been in a long time. It’s exciting to see us score goals and make the score look comfortable, but I don’t believe it was,” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said. “It’s exciting to see because it’s somewhere we haven’t gone before. If we can incorporate that into our game, we will be a much stronger team. I’m thrilled with the goals and even more thrilled with the scorers. It was a fantastic day for us.”
“Tonight, I might have walked out as well. I understand how it works. But when things aren’t going so well, that’s when you have to step up and be a loyal supporter. We had some wonderful results here last year in the league and in Europe, but when things aren’t going so well, you need everyone on your side,” West Ham boss David Moyes said. “I felt the crowd was wonderful at the start of the game tonight, therefore I have no problem with them leaving with a result like that tonight. I have no doubt that they [the board] are on my side. I’m confident in how we operate together and what they think. However, if you are a manager and you lose terribly, as I did tonight, you are constantly in peril. That is something I am aware of.”
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