Postpublished at 88 mins
Newcastle 0-2 West Ham
The Olés have started. West Ham are keeping the ball and the away fans are loving it.
Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored as West Ham secured an impressive win at Newcastle to ease the pressure on manager Julen Lopetegui.
The Spanish coach replaced David Moyes in the summer but had endured a difficult start with just three wins from the Hammers' first 11 games.
But this eye-catching result will go a long way to providing hope to the club's supporters that he is capable of turning things around.
Newcastle were the better side for large periods but fell behind when Soucek headed home from a corner in the first half.
Anthony Gordon should have equalised when he was gifted a shooting chance by a poor clearance from Jean-Clair Todibo, but fired straight at Lukasz Fabianski.
Alexander Isak also had a great opportunity to score just before the break when he was picked out unmarked inside the box by Bruno Guimaraes’ excellent ball, but he thundered his shot wide.
The visitors soaked up the pressure and got the crucial second eight minutes into the second half when Wan-Bissaka drove a shot in off the far post for his first West Ham goal.
The Hammers finished strongly to comfortably see out a win that moves them six points clear of the relegation zone. They are 14th and now just three points off the top 10.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are 10th and four points off the top four.
Former Spain, Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Lopetegui was appointed in the summer as the club looked to move away from pragmatic football under Moyes to a more attacking style of play.
He was allowed to spend around £125m in the summer to reshape the Hammers squad but both the performances on the pitch and the results this season had been concerning.
A lack of goals had been their main issue, with West Ham among the lowest scorers in the Premier League prior to Monday's game, but there were glimpses of promise in this display.
Bar a misjudged clearance by Todibo that should have resulted in Gordon equalising, they defended well and at times they attacked with pace and plenty of players getting forward, while they were clinical with their chances.
This result was all the more impressive considering the good run of form Newcastle had been on - they had beaten both Arsenal and Chelsea before the international break - but the challenge for West Ham now is to build on it.
Up next is a tough test at home to the Gunners but if they can carry on their momentum from this game then they may have turned a corner under Lopetegui.
Newcastle went into this game brimming with confidence as they looked to make it four wins from four in all competitions.
As well as the League Cup victory over Chelsea and the Premier League win against Arsenal, they also beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 just before the international break.
A win would have moved Newcastle to just a point off the top four and a dominant start in this match suggested a comfortable three points looked likely.
But the opener for West Ham clearly unsettled the hosts and, although they missed some good chances to level, they will have been concerned with how often they were left exposed when the visitors broke forward.
The home fans will hope this was just a blip and that they can get back on track when they travel to struggling Crystal Palace at the weekend.
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 31 |
| |
2 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
| |
3 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 22 |
| |
4 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| |
5 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 22 |
| |
6 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 19 |
| |
7 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 19 |
| |
8 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| |
9 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 18 |
| |
10 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 18 |
| |
11 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 17 |
| |
12 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| |
13 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 15 |
| |
14 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 15 |
| |
15 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 11 |
| |
16 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 10 |
| |
17 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 28 | -8 | 9 |
| |
18 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 9 |
| |
19 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 8 |
| |
20 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 4 |
|
Manager: Eddie Howe
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Manager: Julen Lopetegui
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Eddie Howe
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Manager: Julen Lopetegui
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Premier League
All competitions
All competitions
All competitions
Newcastle have lost just one of their last 10 Premier League games against West Ham (W5 D4) and are unbeaten in all five against the Hammers under Eddie Howe (W2 D3).
West Ham haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 10 Premier League games against Newcastle, though they’ve only failed to score themselves in one of the last 13, with both teams finding the net in each of the last seven meetings between them.
Newcastle have won their last two Premier League games, and are looking to win three in a row for the first time since September 2023 – this is the sixth occasion since that they have won twice in a row in the league.
West Ham have kept just two clean sheets in their last 28 Premier League away games, conceding 66 goals (2.4 per game). Indeed, in 2024, they have conceded more away goals in the top-flight (35) than any side.
Along with Liverpool, Newcastle are one of two clubs yet to drop a single point from a winning position in the Premier League this season. The Magpies have won each of the last 10 matches in which they have led at any point in the Premier League, their longest such run since winning 11 in a row from February to August 2006.
West Ham have failed to score in their last two league games, as many as their previous 14 beforehand. Only once since the start of last season have they gone three league matches without a goal, doing so in February.
Newcastle have used fewer players (19) than any other side in the Premier League this season, while only Crystal Palace (4) have seen fewer players score for them (excl. own goals) in the division this term than the Magpies (5).
Newcastle’s Alexander Isak has scored in all three of his Premier League games against West Ham, netting a brace in both meetings with the Hammers last term. No Newcastle player has scored multiple goals in three consecutive Premier League meetings with an opponent before, while no player has ever done so against West Ham either.
Only Jørgen Strand Larsen (16) has made more hold-ups while retaining possession in the Premier League this season than West Ham’s Michail Antonio (15). Antonio is retaining possession with 71% of his hold-ups in the competition this term (15/21), the highest ratio of any player to attempt 10+.
Only against Aston Villa (9) has Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes been directly involved in more Premier League goals than he has against West Ham (8 – 6 goals, 2 assists). He’s either scored or assisted in each of his last four against the Hammers (4 goals, 1 assist), finding the net in each of the last three.