A woeful West Ham performance, which saw Konstantinos Mavropanos sent off and Lukasz Fabianski give away a penalty, highlighted the problems facing Graham Potter as Jean-Philippe Mateta fired Crystal Palace above them in the Premier League with a 2-0 win at the London Stadium.
West Ham were fortuitous to beat Fulham in their midweek outing but this was a damning display, with their overly cautious approach in the opening 45 minutes ultimately punished. They failed to manage a shot on target and their best chance – a horribly sliced shot from Lucas Paqueta – summed up their attacking play.
At the back, they could not handle Mateta. Max Kilman stood off him to allow the Palace man to fire into the bottom corner at the start of the second half and hit the net for a third Premier League game in a row.
Mavropanos was booked for two fouls on him either side of that opener and then Lukasz Fabianski brought down Eddie Nketiah after Mateta had released his strike partner in the box. The Frenchman squeezed in the spot-kick in the 89th minute to seal a win that moves Palace up to 12th.
It is now a club-record seven games unbeaten away from home in the top flight for Palace, who have won four of their last five on the road. They have won back-to-back games in the Premier League for the first time this term. West Ham’s direction of travel is far less positive.
They are 10 points clear of third-bottom Ipswich but the boos that rang out at full-time here underlined the mood. Jarrod Bowen, Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville and Michail Antonio are out with injuries so there are mitigating factors. But with trips to Aston Villa and Chelsea next on their schedule, West Ham’s situation could get worse before it gets better.
More to follow…
