West Ham United 2-3 Newcastle United

Mo Diame scored his first goal for Newcastle this season, in the second half

Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez hopes his side can kick on after a thrilling 3-2 victory at West Ham ended a run of nine Premier League games without a win.

The result moved the Spaniard's side out of the relegation zone after they had slipped from sixth in October to 18th.

"It's difficult when you have a bad run," said the former Liverpool manager. "What was really important was to win, and to have a good performance against a good team.

"It is important not to be in the bottom three at any time, not just at Christmas."

In an eventful match at London Stadium, Senegalese midfielder Henri Saivet played a big role in two goals inside the first 10 minutes.

First, his loose pass was picked up by Hammers forward Marko Arnautovic, who raced into the area before slotting past Rob Elliot.

That lead lasted only four minutes as Saivet - making his first league start under Benitez - atoned for his error with a 25-yard free-kick that sneaked inside Adrian's near post.

The visitors hit the woodwork twice before they went in front, when Mo Diame fired in from Christian Atsu's pass.

But they almost ceded their lead immediately - the Hammers winning a penalty when Michail Antonio was brought down by Ciaran Clark, only for Elliot to save Andre Ayew's low effort.

Atsu soon made it 3-1 with a poked finish after a swift break, but David Moyes' side gave themselves more than a fighting chance when Ayew smashed home after Andy Carroll's header was parried.

Newcastle survived a frantic closing spell to secure a victory that brought relief for the travelling fans.

• Relive the action from London Stadium

Magpies finally get their reward

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez said: "We know it will be difficult to the end but we know that we can win and achieve things doing things as we are."

Benitez has not had the demeanour of a manager under pressure but, after a woeful run, he might have thought it was history repeating having gone down with Newcastle only two seasons ago.

His side are not out of danger, with a home fixture against runaway leaders Manchester City on 27 December followed by another against miserly Brighton, but this win will have given them renewed hope.

The Spaniard has reminded the media that Newcastle have been playing well recently and have just been unlucky. The fortune turned at London Stadium.

Benitez made five changes to the starting line-up, including bringing in Saivet and Diame. Bar the early mistake from Saivet, the core of the midfield looked solid against a team missing the injured Mark Noble.

It was on the wings that Newcastle had the most joy, though, with the recalled Matt Ritchie and DeAndre Yedlin a constant thorn on the right, and Atsu producing an assist and a goal from the other side.

More performances like this could make their recent heartaches a distant memory.

End of the revival?

As for the Hammers, had Ayew scored his penalty, things could have ended differently. The Ghana midfielder appeared to lack conviction when he struck the ball as Elliot guessed the right way.

One player who had plenty of conviction was ex-Newcastle striker Andy Carroll. After coming on as a substitute the 6ft 4in forward dragged two defenders everywhere he went, but not even that could prevent him from getting on the end of a corner which resulted in Ayew pulling it back to 3-2.

However, that was one of only a few good deliveries that reached the Geordie as West Ham opted to launch the ball up to striker as the clock ticked down.

Moyes' side slip to 17th, a point above the relegation zone, after their first defeat in four. Is the revival over?

Man of the match - Christian Atsu (Newcastle)

It was a close-run thing between Ritchie, Yedlin and Atsu, but Atsu gets the nod for his assist, strike and threat down the left

'We have conceded a farcical third goal' - reaction

West Ham manager David Moyes, speaking to Match of the Day: "It was a game full of errors, we had them the whole game.

"We could not pull it together at all. We were huffing and puffing, but could not pull together anything of note though the whole game.

"We did not pass well enough out from the back when we had the chance to and, when you are in the position we are in, you cannot afford to miss penalties. We have done that twice since I have been here.

"And then we have conceded a farcical third goal. It was glaringly obvious we missed Manuel Lanzini.

"Whatever the result is at this time of year, the turnaround is such that you have to roll on to the next game."

Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We needed a performance and a victory like this. We were pushing really hard against Everton and hit the post twice. I am really pleased for the lads and the fans. It is fantastic.

"We had to suffer all the way to the end. We have been playing quite well some games, losing out to a single mistake, so it was tense at the end.

"We know it will be difficult to the end but we know that we can win and achieve things doing things as we are."

West Ham off the spot - the stats

• Newcastle earned their first win in 10 Premier League games (W1 D1 L8), and first away league win since September (1-0 v Swansea).

• West Ham have lost two successive home Premier League matches against newly promoted sides for the first time since 2006-07.

• This is the fourth time Newcastle have won both Premier League games against West Ham in a season - on three of those occasions they have been a newly promoted side (1993-94, 2010-11 and 2017-18).

• Saivet became the 16th player to score a direct free-kick in the Premier League for Newcastle - only Everton and West Ham (17 each) have had more.

• Eight players have scored their first Premier League goal for Newcastle this season - four of these have done so against West Ham (Diame and Saivet, Clark and Joselu in August).

• West Ham have failed to score three of their past five Premier League penalties, with each missed by a different player (Mark Noble v Burnley, Manuel Lanzini vs Everton and Ayew).

• Ayew scored his 12th goal for West Ham in all competitions since he signed, but this was only his third at the London Stadium.

• Atsu both scored and assisted a goal in the same match for the first time in his English league career.

What's next?

Newcastle host Manchester City on 27 December (19:45 GMT), a day after West Ham visit Bournemouth (15:00 GMT).