Premier LeagueWest Ham United 4-2 Brentford
Monday, 26th February 2024
by Chris Wilkerson
West Ham were fired back to life as a returning Lucas Paqueta helped his team to their first win of the calendar year.
Whilst not back to their best, two pairs of quick-fire goals gave The Hammers a 4-2 victory against visiting Brentford, their first Premier League win over The Bees since their promotion to the top flight.It was also a first victory for David Moyes against Brentford, the only team he hadn't beaten of the 43 he'd faced before this evening.
Yet, even with a comfortable lead, his side looked cowed and anxious as they tried to see out the game, and both goals conceded were the result of some abject defending.
The manager made two changes, dropping Aguerd for Mavropanos and bringing Paqueta back into the side in place of Antonio as Jarrod Bowen returned to his role as a striker.
For a team that has been beaten from pillar to post in recent games, West Ham started with a great tempo and looking not just better on the ball, but full of ambition. It really was the influence of their returning Brazilian, with the side flowing forward with intricate passing down the left. The best sign of this recovery was the return of Emerson's flying runs forward, and they would soon be profitable.
After defeats by Forest and Arsenal, two games in which not only have the team failed to defend with any consistency, but created little in the way of threat, it was a surprise to see West Ham creating chances right from the off.
Soucek came close with a difficult chance, and after being dropped in favour of Phillips last week, Soucek was fantastic here, influential across the pitch.
The chance was difficult, Coufal crossing and a flick at the near post dropping the ball right into the path of the midfielder. Soucek reacted sharply, doing well even to steer it towards goal, but over the bar.
It looked a sign of intent, but 30 seconds later, West Ham had a lead.
Brentford played out from the goal kick, but the pass into midfield saw possession turned over as Alvarez won the ball back. He may have been a little lucky to not have been punished as he challenged from behind, so many referees will blow on those tackles, but instead the ball dropped to a West Ham shirt.
From there, Ward-Prowse, Soucek and Paqueta combined to free Emerson as he overlapped once again. His pass to Bowen was perfect, cutting it back to where Bowen was waiting, 12 yards from goal, to the left of the box, Bowen hit a driven effort to the near post and beat Flekken to give The Hammers an early lead.
A goal after five minutes was a tonic for the West Ham support, who came into the game full of trepidation. A pessimistic crowd, they would not have expected such a fast start. And even more tension lifted from the fans as, two minutes later, Bowen scored again.
They looked a team in flying form, confident and sharp, as once again The Hammers pounced on a loose ball in midfield, with Soucek firing a sharp pass forward as the ball rolled free.
It was straight to Bowen, who pushed forward before spreading wide to Kudus. Most of the time, the Ghanaian looks to beat a man and stretch play, but he held it before releasing Coufal's overlap. The right back played a quick pass into the box, where Bowen had again moved himself into space. Centre of goal, he let the ball roll across him from the right and opened his body up to place the ball across goal with the inside of his foot and into the far corner.
Both were certainly presentable chances, but both were the type missed by the forwards for most of 2024 so far. It was not just the supply line and movement that had improved, but now Bowen's clinical finishing had returned with it. With no goals in the three games prior, West Ham had scored two inside 10 minutes.
The shackles were coming off, and you would have forgiven fans for starting to feel relaxed and confident of victory. Maybe to even have forgotten the form the side has been in. But it all came flooding back as West Ham's brittle defence broke with little pressure.
Like many of the goals recently, it was weak at the back. A ball down the right channel was lazily cleared by Zouma, stretching around his man to knock it back up the line, but with little force.
All he did was pass to a Brentford player, and then the defence was out of position. Nobody was close to anyone, with Brentford players flying forward into space.
Toney, who went looking for the ball all game as his supply line faltered, was out wide and played a sharp pass into Lewis-Potter as he burst forward, pushing on through the middle as he came inside from his wing-back position.
With nobody tracking him, he had the time to control and compose before passing the ball into the box for Maupay. Even here, Maupay was given so much space by Mavropanos, and the defender never got close as Maupay lifted the ball into the roof of the net and gave his side a way back into the game with 13 minutes gone.
It was a fast-paced and breathless opening 20 of the game. Kudus may have been a little lucky not to have been punished for a shoulder barge on Reguilon just inside the box, although it is pretty fair to say it was a legitimate challenge, even if he went more into the back of the player than you'd like to see.
Coufal created a good opportunity down the right before those opening 20 minutes passed, but Soucek failed to make contact with the cross before Paqueta sliced high and wide with his right foot.
A minute later, the Brazilian went much closer as Kudus dug out a cross to the far post, and Paqueta did well to volley first time just wide.
But the game definitely found a breathing point after the 20-minute mark. Suddenly, players seemed more set in position, less risks were taken, space seemed to shrink. There was little action, almost as if the two sides were content to let the game balance here whilst chess pieces were moved.
As the half ticked away, there was a slight chance for Soucek that sailed over after a cross behind him by Emerson, and two chances for both sides in stoppage time, both of which were quickly ruled offside.
Which meant West Ham went into the break with their lead intact. Even with a lead, they still came back from the break with Kevin Nolan and Neal Maupay being separated in the tunnel, but there's very few people in football who will look down on the West Ham man for a confrontation with Maupay.
The second half started where the first half left off, back with more jousting, more tentative football and disciplined positioning. The gaps that had been so apparent in the early stages were now all plugged.
The turning point was what looked an innocuous injury. A challenge from Ben Mee saw the central defender struggle to stay on, and eventually allow himself to be replaced.
Nathan Collins came into the back three, but Mee's influence was a huge loss. Whilst the former-Burnley man was often overlooked as a footballer when playing for The Clarets, his spell at Brentford has sharpened eyes to just how good a defender he is. A leader, and an organiser, his presence improves those around him.
And without him, Bowen suddenly found space again in the box. That's not to say Mee would necessarily have prevented the goal that quickly followed, the striker had already scored two in far too much space inside the area, but it seems far less likely that Bowen would have been allowed a free header from six yards out.
But that is what he was allowed as West Ham finally created something telling once more, and their clinical forward did the rest.
The credit goes to Kudus, who plugged away all game. This team, on the left-side of the Brentford box, Kudus looked like he'd run into a wall as three Brentford defenders stood in front of him. With the ball tight to his feet, he resisted the urge to turn back or to make space for himself, instead digging out a cross that found Bowen's head only 10 yards away from him.
It dropped at the perfect height, right on the six-yard line, and Bowen duly obliged to score his first hat-trick in professional football. With just under 30 minutes to play, West Ham had their breathing room.
Not that the game was won. Brentford came close almost instantly, a couple minutes between Bowen's goal and Areola making a great save after Reguilon crossed to Onyeka. The midfielder volleyed the ball low to the near post, but Areola was down swiftly to turn it around the corner. The away side appealed for a penalty from the resultant corner, but were rightly denied as Soucek and Coufal angrily confronted the weak Norgaard.
But, six minutes after Bowen had notched again, Emerson scored the goal of the night to surely put an end to the contest.
A cross from Kudus was headed down, out of the box. 25 yards out, maybe a little less, it rolled to Emerson, who took a touch out of his feet and, in space and urged to shoot by the crowd, the left back arrowed one perfectly into the top corner, across the goalkeeper and out of his reach to score only his second ever goal in the Premier League.
The first two came within a couple minutes of each other, and the second pair only six minutes apart.
At 4-1, you would be forgiven for thinking West Ham may relax, may have played with confidence and a bit more freedom. Certainly, they wouldn't have looked panicked in defence.
But the foundations are still crumbling, and West Ham were not improved by replacing Paqueta with Antonio on the left wing. Once a real winger, Antonio has lost much of what made him a threat there, and his own return from fitness has seen him come back more than rusty. Bowen stayed up top for 10 minutes, until Antonio's ill-discipline eventually saw the pair swap.
The tension ratcheted up as Wissa reduced to deficit back down to two. Now the fear and anxiety became palpable.
It was another goal of far too much simplicity as a loose ball in the West Ham half was fired into Wissa, who had run behind the centre backs whilst remaining onside. They recovered to slow him down, but not hinder him, and he was composed as he pushed it to his right and then curled it into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Eight minutes of normal time to play, West Ham were scared.
They still had to score twice, but it was as if both fans and players alike had decided one goal would surely lead to another. Seven additional minutes of stoppage time didn't help, but West Ham camped inside their own box to see out the game, and invited the drama that comes with it.
There were big chances, too. Areola was forced into a very good save after Toney won a header at the far post and nodded firmly into the grass. Moments later, Damsgaard was denied after his fiercely struck effort from inside the box met the resistance of the Frenchman in goal, and Toney could only see his rebound blocked by the impressive Emerson.
These late salvos were not enough to damage the scoreline or deny West Ham their first three points of 2024.
It wasn't a classic performance, but it was an improvement, and a deserved victory. The road to recovery, a push for Europe once more, and a new contract for David Moyes may all have started here.
Manager's Rating
David Moyes 8/10: His big decisions, Mavropanos and a quick recall for Paqueta, both worked. Also, the fact his team had the confidence to go play like that so early, and to perform like the last few games hadn't happened, is a credit to where he has got their mentality.
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Alphonse AreolaMade some crucial saves. Both goals were finished excellently, but the other big moments were won by some fantastic goalkeeping. Onyeka, Toney and Damsgaard all had big chances and met a better goalkeeper.
Vladimir Coufal
Good service from the wing, the full backs released and more confident going forward than they have been for a few games. One assist, more chances created, and defended the wide areas well.
Emerson Palmieri
It's as if he's also just returned from injury, as this was the Emerson we haven't seen without Paqueta there. His best mate is obviously the one who enables his game, giving him the wall passes he needs and reading his movement. Key to the strong start, good assist, great goal.
Kurt Zouma
Recovered enough from his errors to save it from being an awful performance, but he's never as comfortable on the left side and looked still short of his best form. Confidence needs to recover in the defence.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Other than the goals, the first in particular, he was much better than Aguerd has been. The second is more of a problem for the whole unit, while the first was panicked reactions to Zouma's poor play. He was strong in the air and in his personal battles.
Edson Alvarez
West Ham looked in good shape and more settled when Alvarez was protecting them, especially the left side. That settled section of the game, the middle part, was made solid by Alvarez and Soucek working very well as a team in the middle.
Tomas Soucek
Didn't have to do anything too dramatic at either end, but his role as a spare centre back helped limit the exposure of Zouma's poor form, and his passing in midfield was better than it has ever been. Simple, but decisive. Phillips's presence may lift Tommy, so there's a benefit there.
James Ward-Prowse
Quietly efficient role, especially doing a lot of Paqueta's running work and pressing hard on that side. He moves for the ball well, and whilst he's often safe in possession, it's vital to have players moving for the creative ones to play off. A few good set-pieces, too.
Mohamed Kudus
A threat, and one well marshalled for the most part as the 3-4-3 of Brentford helped them get numbers out to defend wide areas. But he dug out a fantastic cross for the Bowen goal, protected the ball well in general.
Lucas Paqueta
Faded as the game went on, recovering his fitness will take a little time, but his influence cannot be quantified easily. The whole team, every player, looked a different proposition with him on the pitch. His link play was vital, and he also has a little bit of an edge that riles opponents, and also wins us freekicks that can disrupt.
Jarrod Bowen
Outstanding finishing, worked hard, and then, as the game wore on, he took it upon himself to go do the extra defending and be an asset for the defence when others were tiring or unable to, like Antonio. Spectacular work in and around the box, and the calls to buy a striker will disappear again with performances like this.
Substitutes
Michail Antonio(Replaced Paqueta, 76) Lost the ball, didn't work hard enough or do his defensive work with any discipline.
Ben Johnson
(Replaced Kudus, 90+4) Put on simply to waste a few seconds.
Lukasz Fabianski
Did not play.
Aaron Cresswell
Did not play.
Nayef Aguerd
Did not play.
Angelo Ogbonna
Did not play.
Maxwel Cornet
Did not play.
Divin Mubama
Did not play.
Danny Ings
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Emerson Palmieri, Kurt Zouma, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek, James Ward-Prowse, Mohamed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen.Goals: Jarrod Bowen 5 Jarrod Bowen 7 Jarrod Bowen 63 Emerson Palmieri 69 .
Booked: Edson Alvarez 0 .
Sent off: None.
Brentford: Flekken, Jørgensen, Ajer, Mee (Collins 61), Reguilón (Roerslev 73), Onyeka (Janelt 73), Jensen (Damsgaard 77), Nørgaard, Lewis-Potter, Maupay (Wissa 73), Toney.
Subs not used: Strakosha, Ghoddos, Baptiste, Yarmolyuk.
Goals: Maupay (13), Wissa (82).
Booked: Reguilon, Jorgensen.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Simon Hooper.
Attendance: 62,450.
Man of the Match: Jarrod Bowen.