🦁 West Ham eases pressure on Lopetegui with Wolves victory

West Ham eased the pressure on Julen Lopetegui with a 2-1 win over Wolves.

Scorers: Souček 53′, Bowen 72′; Doherty 69′

An emotional pre-match at the London Stadium saw the hosts pay several pre-match tributes to distressed teammate Michail Antonio following his road accident.

A wary first half came alive at the half-hour mark when Rayan Aït-Nouri made a sliding interception to deny Carlos Soler’s effort.

At the other end, João Gomes missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock after Matt Doherty played a perfect cross to the far post.

Tomáš Souček finally opened the scoring just minutes into the second half with a looping header from Jarrod Bowen’s corner from the far left of the area.

The Hammers looked to have doubled their lead before the hour mark as Mohammed Kudus made a cut from Bowen but was disallowed for offside.

Doherty equalized by volleying in Aït-Nouri’s cross from the left, but parity lasted all three minutes as Bowen swept away Kudus’ assist.

Kudus scored a potential third in the closing stages, but was again denied by the offside flag after being played in by substitute Lucas Paquetá.

West Ham remain 14th in the Premier League table with 18 points from their opening 15 matches while Wolves are still in the relegation zone, four points from safety.

📸 Justin Setterfield – 2024 Getty Images