Burnley 3-0 West Ham: Clarets end losing run with comfortable win

Roberto own goalImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

Roberto struggled with high balls all afternoon, turning Ashley Westwood's corner into his own net

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini said his team "need to change" after a dispiriting 3-0 defeat at Burnley left them two places above the Premier League relegation zone.

The Hammers are now without a win in six league games following a poor performance that included a bizarre own goal by goalkeeper Roberto.

"When you concede so many easy goals it does not help," said Pellegrini. "I am concerned at the easy goals we are conceding."

The Clarets were leading 1-0 through Ashley Barnes' close-range effort when a Chris Wood header was chalked off by the video assistant referee, with the New Zealand striker shown to be just offside.

But Wood doubled Burnley's lead just before half-time with a first-time shot, and the hosts were out of sight when Roberto turned the ball into his own net from an Ashley Westwood corner early in the second half.

"We need to change. We need to work hard and reverse this situation," Pellegrini added.

Burnley's opener came from a corner, but West Ham's defenders were convinced that they should have had a goal-kick, claiming that the last touch before the ball went over the byeline had come off Barnes.

And the hosts were celebrating what appeared to be a goal for Wood when referee Kevin Friend paused the game before overturning the effort.

West Ham had just one touch in the Burnley box before half-time, but seemed to be improving after the break when Roberto, who had often looked uncertain under the high ball, turned Westwood's corner behind him for the third.

The Spanish keeper did make some excellent saves following his error, but a bad day for West Ham saw them end the game with 10 men after substitute Manuel Lanzini was carried off with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.

Burnley put poor run behind them

Media caption,

Sean Dyche happy with Burnley display after win over Hammers

Burnley's hard-to-beat image had taken something of a knock before West Ham's visit, with nine goals conceded in three consecutive defeats.

Manager Sean Dyche branded as "unacceptable" his side's performance seven days earlier in their 3-0 loss to Sheffield United, where all three goals went in before half-time, but this display at Turf Moor was a marked improvement.

Both full-backs were changed, with Phil Bardsley and Charlie Taylor making their first league starts of the season, but reuniting the partnership of Barnes and Wood up front gave Burnley the cutting edge they missed at Bramall Lane.

Barnes scored his fifth of the season, and his first since 25 August, when he poked home James Tarkowski's nod-down from a corner.

Wood had been sorely missed during the previous two matches because of a hamstring injury, and his disallowed goal had seen him elude two defenders to expertly head home Dwight McNeil's accurate cross.

The pair combined well for the goal that did stand, with the impressive 19-year-old McNeil latching on to a mistake by Fabián Balbuena to find Wood, who shot first time past Roberto.

The West Ham keeper may have gifted Burnley their third, but in truth the hosts already looked to be heading for a comfortable win with centre-backs Tarkowski and Ben Mee giving the Hammers' forward line little to play with.

More than a bad day at the office for West Ham

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Hammers need to improve on poor form - Manuel Pellegrini

West Ham's promising start to the season, which saw them lie in fifth in late September following a fine 2-0 win over Manchester United, is a distant memory after a day to forget.

Much went against them, with the disputed corner that led to the first goal followed by an injury to West Ham captain Mark Noble, forced off after 20 minutes.

Lanzini's serious-looking injury continued their misfortune, but Pellegrini's side were architects of their own problems before then.

Roberto's slack throw out caught Balbuena off guard, with the defender then allowing McNeil in to set up Wood for Burnley's second.

It was a truly bizarre display by Roberto, with that throw, uncertainty at crosses and his dreadful own goal contrasted with excellent saves to deny Wood, Bardsley, Jeff Hendrick and Jack Cork to keep the score just within the bounds of respectability.

Burnley keeper Nick Pope did not have a save to make in the first half, with West Ham failing to score in the league for the fourth time this season.

The international break appears to offer Pellegrini some respite, but it is followed by difficult looking fixtures against Tottenham, Chelsea, Wolves and Arsenal within 16 days.

Man of the match - Dwight McNeil (Burnley)

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

McNeil, right, has started all 12 of Burnley's games this season and was a constant threat on their left flank, making the assist for Wood's goal among 58 touches of the ball

'We're conceding too easily' - Manager reaction

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini: "I don't know if it was an unacceptable performance. We conceded the first goal from a corner that was not a corner.

"When you concede so many easy goals, it does not help. I am concerned at the easy goals we are conceding. We need to change.

"We have 15 days and we will try to recover. The international break has come at a good time. We need to work hard and reverse this situation. It's more than just confidence - we are conceding too many goals. if you concede too many easy goals, it is very difficult to win."

On the injury to Manuel Lanzini: "We will see what has happened with his shoulder but he will probably be out for some time."

Burnley boss Sean Dyche: "We were off the mark last week. From the very beginning of the game today our body language, intent and belief was there.

"Dwight McNeil had a tough game last week but he bounced back with a really good performance. I told him this week I'd kick him somewhere if he didn't smile more!

"We have picked up six points from the past five games. It doesn't sound much but when you see the teams we have played then it's not a bad return.

"People forget we had one bad game last week - we've actually been going along well this season."

Wood you believe it? The stats

  • Chris Wood has scored in all five of his Premier League games against West Ham, the best 100% scoring record against an opponent in the competition's history.

  • Burnley have recorded consecutive top-flight victories over West Ham for the first time since October 1973.

  • West Ham have lost four of their past five Premier League games (D1), after suffering just one defeat in the 11 before that.

  • Ashley Barnes has hit 37 Premier League goals for Burnley, 12 more than any other player for the club.

  • Burnley's Dwight McNeil registered his fourth Premier League assist of the season, a joint-high among English players along with Leicester's Harvey Barnes.

  • McNeil (four) is one of just three teenagers to assist at least four goals in Europe's big five leagues this season, alongside Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho (five) and Parma's Dejan Kulusevski (five).

  • West Ham's Roberto is the first goalkeeper to score an own goal in the Premier League since Huddersfield's Jonas Lössl against Brighton in April 2018.

What's next?

West Ham resume after the international break at home to Tottenham on Saturday, 23 November (12.30 GMT). Later that afternoon, Burnley face struggling Watford at Vicarage Road (15:00).

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