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West Ham United 3-1 Fulham
It took just three minutes for the deadlock to be broken and it was the visitors who took the lead. Ryan Babel finished with an aplomb finish into the bottom left corner after a precise cross from his opposite winger Ryan Sessegnon in a dream start for the 19th placed side.
Prior to the early Fulham goal, the home crowd had been buoyant by the return of Manuel Lanzini to the bench after a horrific knee injury. West Ham also welcomed a return to the bench for Marko Arnautovic, who has had a spell on the sidelines through injury, so Javier Hernandez spearheaded the attack. Pablo Zabaleta started at right back meaning Ryan Fredericks was on the bench for the visit of his former club to the London Stadium.
With the score at 0-1, neither side could gain a foothold on the game, with misplaced passes and fouls preventing either team from gaining any rhythmn. Half an hour approached and West Ham found an equalier via Javier Hernandez. The Mexican striker reacting from just two yards out to turn the ball into the net from a corner. Replays proved the forward illegaly used his arm to guide the ball home, but the officials failed to spot the infringement and the goal stood.
It was another set piece that was Fulham’s undoing in the 40th minute. Robert Snodgrass whipped in an excellent cross to the front post that was met emphatically by the impressive Issa Diop who made no mistake from inside the six yard box.
Fulham continued to prove frail when defending set pieces, with Snodgrass and Diop combining just minutes later, forcing Sergio Rico into a fine save at his near post. Fulham looked deflated, West Ham bouyant, as the half time whistle blew.
Both managers opted to change things at half time. Claudio Ranieri sacrificed Jean Seri and Ryan Sessegnon for Lazar Markovic and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. Manuel Pellegrini introduced former Fulham man Fredericks in place of the tiring Zabaleta.
Fulham grew into the second half and looked threatning on the break, with Tom Cairney weaving through the West Ham midfield, travelling from one penalty area to the other with a show of immense skill, but Mitrovic failed to find the final ball.
Marko Arnautovic returned to the pitch, replacing Javier Hernandez with 25 minutes left to play. Then with 15 minutes left to play, the stadium rose to it’s feet and erupted with cheers and applause as Manuel Lanzini made his way onto the pitch. The long awaited return of the Argentine brought smiles to the faces of all in claret and blue.
Fulham tried to dampen the mood, pushing on to equalise, but Mitrovic found himself in offside positions when any quality delivery was arced his way. West Ham then stepped up a gear and sought to kill the game. Michail Antonio keeping Tim Ream busy in the box and Arnautovic pummeled the post from inside the box as the final minutes approached.
As Fulham decided to ramp up the urgency, West Ham killed the game. Arnautovic teeing up Antonio to power home a header from the penalty spot and condemn Ranier and his Fulham side to deeper relegation trouble.
Ranieri winced as he turned away, knowing the upcoming visit to St Mary’s could be a make or break match for Fulham’s Premier League status. West Ham climb to ninth place and look good value to finish in the top half this season. But the Hammers will go home happy with three points and the return of valuable first team players form injuries.
