West Ham moved six points clear of the relegation zone as they produced one of the most comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. After impressively advancing to another European semi-final on Thursday, West Ham’s attention swiftly returned to their fight to avoid relegation, and they got off to the ideal start on the south coast with two goals inside 12 minutes. Five minutes later, Michail Antonio rose unnoticed to head in Aaron Cresswell’s corner, and seven minutes after, Lucas Paqueta doubled the lead for the Hammers with a header of his own at the back post. Following his team’s third goal against Gent on Tuesday, West Ham captain Declan Rice then gave the visitors a 3-0 lead two minutes before halftime. After that, the Hammers (72) added a late fourth through an impressive effort from substitute Pablo Fornals.
After giving up two goals early on, Bournemouth, who had won four of their previous six league games, rallied impressively. However, Rice’s goal effectively destroyed their hopes of a comeback. With seven games left, the outcome allows West Ham to overtake Bournemouth and move up to 13th in the standings. With six games remaining, the Cherries fall to 15th place and are five points above the bottom three.
Despite their heroics on Thursday, Moyes only made two adjustments at the Vitality Stadium, one of which was the return of his first-choice goalie Lukasz Fabianski. Antonio took advantage of the additional chance to lead the line by scoring the game’s first goal in the fifth minute to earn his manager’s trust. With Cresswell’s near-post corner being hammered in by the unmarked attacker for his 12th goal of the season across all competitions, Bournemouth had it all too simple.
Seven minutes later, the Hammers extended their lead, frustrating Cherries manager Gary O’Neil once again. Paqueta comfortably outjumped Jack Stephens to head in Vladimir Coufal’s looping cross at the back post after he regained possession and controlled Jarrod Bowen’s feed. Chris Mepham later put Fabianski to the test with a header as Bournemouth showed no signs of giving up just yet. The next to try his luck was Jefferson Lerma, and Fabianski was once more up to the task, but his best move was to come next.
After 30 minutes, Dominic Solanke forced his way past Nayef Aguerd and sprinted toward a goal, but Fabianski made a good stop with his feet to keep West Ham ahead by two goals. After holding off Bournemouth’s comeback, Moyes’ team added to their lead two minutes before halftime thanks to their talisman. When a Cresswell corner was cleared to the back post, Rice was first to the loose ball and was there to score this week’s second and third goals with a deflection. Soon after, the visiting supporters began serenading the Hammers skipper with cries pleading with him to remain amid rumors that his future lay outside the London Stadium after this season.
At halftime, O’Neil attempted to strike back by substituting Wales attacker Kieffer Moore for Joe Rothwell, but it had the opposite effect. On the hour mark, Bournemouth made three substitutions, including the introduction of Dango Ouattara, the stoppage-time hero against Spurs the previous weekend. Despite his initial difficulties, West Ham was soon celebrating a fourth goal. Although Bowen’s cross to Fornals was a little behind him, the substitute still managed to backheel the ball into the far corner to make it 4-0 after 72 minutes.
West Ham fans chanted for Rice to stay for another season as the game came to a close. At the very least, this victory goes a long way toward securing their spot in the Premier League for the upcoming season. Hammers substitute Maxwel Cornet had a stoppage-time shot called out for offside. With 63 goals allowed this season, Bournemouth’s defense is now the most porous in the Premier League, one more than Leeds. They must immediately recuperate for their matchup against rival Southampton on Thursday.
“The performance was excellent in so many ways. The objectives were undoubtedly a positive thing. Great credit goes to the guys for the week we had since we scored four goals in the middle of the week and did it again. I must give them enormous credit for drawing at Arsenal, defeating Gent, and now winning at Bournemouth,” West Ham boss David Moyes said. “It comes at a good time for us as we are attempting to gain momentum. We’ve improved a little bit and looked a little bit better since the World Cup. We’ve brought in some males, and some of them are settling in. Additionally, we are scoring a few more goals, which was an area in which we struggled early in the season.”
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