West Ham outclassed Burnley at Turf Moor to keep their Champions League dream alive

West Ham will be wondering how they did not run away with the game after an impressive display saw them beat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor.

Despite dominating the early stages, the Hammers found themselves a goal behind after Issa Diop’s mistake allowed Chris Wood to find space in the box before being fouled by Tomas Soucek for a chance to open the scoring.

Wood duly dispatched to give Burnley an unlikely lead after mountains of sustained pressure from the visitors continued to build.

The concession of an opener did not cause concern for David Moyes’ men who remained patient and composed, full of confidence that, should they remain to do the right things, the equaliser would come.

Just two minutes later that became the case as Michail Antonio expertly finessed a header across goal after some smart interplay on the edge of the area to bring his side level.

Antonio followed that up with what was the winner in the 29^th minute as Said Benrahma’s domination of the game continued, beating his marker before whipping in a delightful cross for the striker to swallow up and give his side the lead.

West Ham will be wondering how the game remained so tight on the scoreboard right until the end, but their class was more than enough to get back to winning ways.

David Moyes has developed a synchronised, fluid, easy on the eye machine at the London Stadium.

To think back to merely a year ago, Moyes’ stock in football was at an all time low. Someone who you failed to see making his mark in the top flight of English football ever again.

But now this is arguably the best footballing side he has ever overseen in his management career.

Despite his obvious successes at Everton, a lot of their success came through a defensive solidity and organisation matched with individuals capable of providing the key moments to make the difference.

Here with West Ham each and every one of his attacking outlets is in tune with each other.

The common theme of football is that, should you be a side of a lesser standard than your opponent, you have two choices.

You either sit deeper and remain compact to frustrate the opposition as they look to break down the unit in order to get in behind and create chances.

On the other hand, you can become aggressive off the ball, pressing high up the pitch to force mistakes in order to break up the initial build-up play before it gets into a dangerous area.

The problem for Burnley tonight and many others who have come up against this West Ham side is that neither strategy can bring rewards when they are in full flight.

No matter the level of pressure they are under in tight central midfield areas, they efficiently provide a passing exchange that finds them turned in behind the opposition press and baring down on the opposition defence.

On a number of occasions last night, Burnley opted to press high in order to break up the build-up play but this instantly left space for the likes of Jesse Lingard and Pablo Fornals to drift into.

With Tomas Soucek and Manuel Lanzini happy to keep hold of possession and be brave, awaiting the right moment to thread the initial pass through the lines, it is the perfect recipe to bypass any press.

Seeing that this intensity of press was not working in defensive phases, Sean Dyche returned to his compact, rigid unit that has served him so well during his time at Turf Moor.

But West Ham had other ideas.

Despite the number of Burnley bodies in and around their own 18-yard box, West Ham dictated the play swiftly from right to left, disrupting the organisation.

Their movement between the lines was non-stop and it left Burnley players unable to track runners without being drawn out of position themselves.

This West Ham side are experts at dragging opposition defences out of position but more importantly being right on time to play the killer pass in behind when it is open.

Tonight was a perfect display of exactly why this Hammers side is so impressive, they have a European elegance to their play.

The structure of the squad, particularly from midfield forwards is perfect for the identity of style they are wanting to impose, and it is testament to David Moyes that he was able to identify those extra qualities required to take them from a mid-table side to European hopefuls.

Confidence is flowing through the Hammers right now and although the Champions League may well be a step too far this season, Moyes has reinvigorated his career and has brought to the fold a front-footed, liquid footballing side that West Ham fans can be proud of.

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