Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored as West Ham United defeated Newcastle United 2-0 at St James' Park on Monday to ease the pressure on boss Julen Lopetegui.
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Newcastle entered the game on a three-match winning run, including back-to-back victories in the Premier League, but it was a previously out-of-form West Ham side who came out on top.
Soucek profited from some poor Newcastle defending to head West Ham into a 10th-minute lead, then Wan-Bissaka fired in his first goal for the Hammers early in the second half.
That second goal took the wind out of Newcastle's sails and they failed to test Lukasz Fabianski from then on, slumping to a second loss in their last three home league matches.
West Ham stay 14th in the table but are now within three points off Newcastle, who drop a place to 10th, still four points adrift of the top four.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |
Fulham
FUL
|
18 | +3 | 28 |
| 9 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
18 | -3 | 28 |
| 10 |
Brighton
BHA
|
17 | +1 | 25 |
| 11 |
Spurs
TOT
|
18 | +13 | 23 |
| 12 |
Brentford
BRE
|
17 | 0 | 23 |
| 13 |
West Ham
WHU
|
18 | -7 | 23 |
| 14 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
18 | -3 | 22 |
How the match unfolded
After Alexander Isak saw a chipped finish disallowed for offside in the early stages, West Ham took the lead against the run of play.
Emerson swung a corner in from the left and an unmarked Soucek headed into the bottom-right corner from 10 yards out.
Fabianski then produced a great save to deny Anthony Gordon from close range and Isak fired off-target with just the West Ham goalkeeper to beat before the interval.
Newcastle's frustration grew eight minutes into the second half as Jarrod Bowen fed the ball to Wan-Bissaka, who found the net via the far post.
That second goal took the wind out of Newcastle's sails and they failed to test Fabianski from then on, slumping to a second loss in their last three home league matches.
Callum Wilson saw a penalty appeal turned down after being introduced for his first appearance of the season, but Newcastle otherwise struggled to offer much of a response as the visitors saw out a comfortable win.
Isak and Newcastle struggle to fire
Newcastle's fans serenaded striker Isak ahead of the match with a colourful display spelling out his name behind one of the goals, but he was unable to repay them on the field.
The Sweden international had one big opportunity in the first half and attempted six shots in total on Monday, yet none of those were on target as he failed to add to his tally of four league goals for the season.
Gordon also lacked his usual spark in front of goal, unable to make the most of some impressive creative play from Newcastle's outstanding performer Bruno Guimaraes, and a lack of threat in the final third is now becoming a concern for Eddie Howe's men.
This is the third time the Magpies have failed to find the net in their past six league outings, and after scoring 85 Premier League goals last season, they have mustered just 13 in 2024/25.
Howe's side had finally built some momentum prior to the international break with wins over Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, but this represented a return to their rather below-par displays from earlier on in the season.
With a trip to struggling Crystal Palace up next before Liverpool visit Tyneside in nine days' time, Howe will be demanding better.
Lopetegui gets lift-off
Lopetegui had come under growing pressure at West Ham, having made a slow start since replacing David Moyes ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, but this welcome victory will lift the clouds of doom.
The Hammers benefitted from fast starts to both halves, netting from their first attempt after kick-off and their first shot after the restart.
While Soucek now has four Premier League goals against Newcastle, Wan-Bissaka might be pinching himself after ending a three-year goal drought in the competition. He had never previously netted in front of fans, with both of his previous Premier League goals coming behind closed doors for Manchester United in 2020/21.
Indeed, the full-back's first strike came against Newcastle at an empty St James' Park. Wan-Bissaka also netted for his former club in their 9-0 win over Southampton.
Wan-Bissaka's goal
Aaron opens his account in Claret and Blue 🕷️⚒️ pic.twitter.com/ZzXiAMcOgH
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 26, 2024
West Ham had been accused of being too passive under Lopetegui but that was certainly not the case at St James' Park, as they continued to throw men forward even at 2-0 up, with Bowen a particularly bright spark on the counter.
Now closer – in terms of points – to the European spots than the relegation zone, Lopetegui will hope this win is a turning point ahead of Saturday's London derby versus Arsenal.
Club reports
Newcastle report | West Ham report
What the managers said
Eddie Howe: "I don't think anything takes me by surprise in the Premier League. Every team has qualities. I felt the goals changed the game today. I thought we were the dominant team going in at half-time, the game could have been very different if we'd have taken one of our chances in the first half.
"We didn't respond well to the goal in the second half. We lost a bit of confidence and became a bit ragged in the end. I'm pretty pleased with the first 60 minutes, we did open them up. Unfortunately goals will always change the perception of anybody. The last half an hour I didn't like at all. We made bad decisions with the ball. Certainly a game we'll rue when we watch it back."
Julen Lopetegui: "We are happy. It's always happy to win away or home in the Premier League. We are happy because of three points more. We have to look forward. All matches have key moments. This one [Soucek's goal], I think we had personality and fortunately we scored. We suffered too. In the second half we deserved to win.
"Working for the team and giving the best of each player to the team, that's what we did. We have to keep going. To look forward to the next challenge. We always have to believe in ourselves. It's not easy for one team in the Premier League. The most important thing is to overcome as a team."
Next five PL fixtures
Match facts
West Ham have won eight of their last nine Premier League matches on a Monday, with the only exception in this sequence being a 3-1 loss at Arsenal on Boxing Day 2022.
Tomas Soucek has scored four Premier League goals against Newcastle (against no side has he scored more in the competition) with all four of his strikes against the Magpies putting the Hammers into the lead.
Jarrod Bowen’s assist for Wan-Bissaka was his 79th Premier League goal involvement for West Ham (46 goals, 33 assists), overtaking Paolo Di Canio (78). Indeed, only Michail Antonio (101) and Mark Noble (82) have more goals and assists combined for the Hammers in the competition than Bowen.
