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Premier League
Burnley 0-2 West Ham United 

Saturday, 7th February 2026
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread

Finally, West Ham won a must-win game, and with it found only their second clean sheet of the season as Nuno's Hammers were comfortable 2-0 victors over Burnley at Turf Moor.

After Leeds United beat Nottingham Forest on Friday evening, this was a chance to cut the gap to three points. Unlike those crucial ties over Christmas, the side showed all the mental strength and composure required to deliver when the pressure was on.



In a vital clash, a rare away game that looked winnable for the Hammers, Nuno made decisive changes. Disasi was brought in for his debut, with Todibo suspended, but there was some surprise to see Callum Wilson replacing Pablo, whilst it was a shock to see Mads Hermansen come into the side for Areola. With the Frenchman on the bench, it appeared the goalkeeper's performance at Chelsea had made his manager rethink his options. In forward areas, Wilson is a much more clinical striker than Pablo, who brings a boundless energy off the ball, but looks short of the touch to bring goals to this side.

It suggested that the manager expected his side to make more chances, and it immediately changed how West Ham played. Castellanos went into the deeper of the two forward roles, and Burnley played out from the back with far less pressure on them than the frontline had placed on Chelsea, Sunderland and Tottenham in the most recent fixtures.

Without that suppressive energy, West Ham seemed set up to pounce on Burnley mistakes, dropping into the 4-4-2 defensive shape quickly and asking their hosts to play through them.

Burnley came into the match without a Premier League win for 15 games, but had pushed the Hammers all the way in the reverse fixture, a 2-1 West Ham win back in November.

The home side are comfortable on the ball, but their problem has been a lack of true quality in dangerous areas. This was the case throughout, Parker's side good at getting into the final third, but delivering very little once they were there.

Both sides had minor penalty claims in the opening ten minutes, both rightfully ignored by the referee. Summerville had beaten Walker around the outside and into the area, but tumbled too easily.

At the other end, Edwards was allowed to reach a ball that Hermansen should have comfortably cleared up, a driven pass that rolled into the area, but the goalkeeper's hesitation opened up a chance for the winger. In the end, Hermansen did just enough to defend the opening, forcing the winger wide and away from goal after a coming together.




There was little of quality until Fernandes suddenly took hold of the ball in the West Ham half and made something out of nothing. The midfielder won a loose ball and saw space, and it was space he flew into, leaving two in his trail as the Portuguese midfielder took it 30 yards forward and then rolled a pass into the box as Summerville comes flying around his left.

The pass was weighted perfectly, drawing Dubravka off his line, but just out of his reach. Summerville beat the goalkeeper to the ball and dinked it over him as he slid out to claim it. Two defenders chased, but neither could get there as the Dutch winger wheeled away in celebration, another on this fantastic goalscoring run that has seen him score in each of the last five games.

The finish was fantastic, but it was Fernandes's ability to carry the ball at pace through the middle, a powerful run, that turned defence to attack and opened the game up.

West Ham have scored in the opening 15 minutes of their last five Premier League games, a change in dynamic, and Nuno has made this a team that is at it from the off. Strong first halves have been key to the turn around in form and performance.

Hermansen continued to do just enough without looked assured, punching a cross away that he didn't necessarily need to deal with and flooring Diouf in the process, but it was enough. Burnley maintained strong possession, yet the Hammers will feel their defence mostly comfortable with the ball in front of them.

It was not the exciting and convincing performances of recent weeks, with less grit and fight on show. What they had was the quality that Burnley lack at this level, and it was on show again as the Irons doubled their lead.

Patient possession football kept Burnley chasing the ball, and as West Ham prodded and probed, they found their opening. A fired ball to the feet of Summerville got Walker to commit, but he was beaten by the Dutchman, who flicked it around him and wide to Diouf in space.




The left back took advantage, winding up and lining up a cross as he does. It whipped and curled beautifully into the box, perfectly in front of Castellanos, who got across his man and just had to deftly glance it on, using all the pace on the ball to guide it from the front post and across goal into the far corner, with Dubravka rooted to the spot.

The goalkeeper was given no chance, the header the perfect touch to turn a wonderful cross into another West Ham goal. Without playing particularly well, it was 2-0 to West Ham at Turf Moor.

Burnley pushed to reduce the deficit before half time, Edwards and Anthony trying to force the issue down the wings. There was little from it, the best a ball across the face of goal by Hannibal that Anthony scuffed wide of goal at the far post.

A deflected effort from Ugochukwu was well managed by Hermansen, the midfielder doing well to drive through his midfield opponents before shooting, but that was all the goalkeeper was forced to do.

Summerville may have done more with a ball into the box that he took around Dubravka, but he was forced wide and only found a defender as he clipped it back into the middle.

The Hammers were comfortable as they welcomed the half-time break, although keenly aware that a 2-0 lead at the end of the first half had not been enough to secure even a point last weekend.

Burnley made changes for the second half and started it brightly. Whilst Wilson did get into a dangerous position in the box within the first minute, in the end tackled well by the goalkeeper, it was the home side who looked closest to scoring.

Edwards forced a good save from Hermansen, firing across goal and finding a strong palm from the Dane. The corner was defended badly, although the Hammers escaped as the ball bounced to Fernandes and the midfielder was fouled.




Burnley's best chance of the half followed quickly after. An effort from the edge of the box was blocked, but deflected up to Flemming in the area.

The big striker chested down and shot quickly, only for his effort to be blocked and deflect to Edwards on the six-yard line. He turned to shoot, with the goal gaping, but found the figure of Wan-Bissaka in his way, the right back saving a certain goal with a crucial block.

A minute later, Parker's side wasted another glorious chance. A corner to the far post was headed back into the middle, and Flemming threw himself at it inside the six-yard box. Unfortunately for his side, the powerful header was right at Hermansen, who reacted well to push it away before the ball was cleared.

Having witnessed 10 opening minutes of the half of Burnley pressure, and some chances to go with it, Nuno was forced into a change. This time, rather than an extra centre back, the manager strengthened his midfield, replacing Wilson with Freddie Potts as the academy graduate went into the centre of the park to support Fernandes and Soucek.

It improved the Hammers, who kept the ball in the middle better with that extra passing option, and matched up with Burnley's midfield three.

The visitors started to wake up a little, Bowen taking the ball on after a long spell of passing, driving off the wing into a central area, only to fire over.

The captain was wasteful two minutes later, squandering an opportunity after a long Fernandes diagonal from the West Ham half caught the left back out. Bowen nicked it off his toes and was in on goal, but with a tight angle, he looked to square it instead of shooting.

The idea was good, the execution poor, Bowen blasting it across the face of goal like a shot, and neither threatening goal nor threatening to find Summerville. He could have shot, and all he really needed to do was roll it softly over to the winger, but seemed to do the worst of both options and saw the chance drift away.




It was the last real chance of the game. Burnley pushed forward but had little in the tank left to find. Any openings were snuffed out, and the defence can be very happy with their afternoon's work. Disasi was barely noticeable on his debut, exactly how he'd have wanted it, and proved himself an adept forward passer with both feet, whilst defending well. In his first real game since April, the French defender may have immediately pencilled himself in as the first choice centre back.

There was time for Pablo and Scarles to get 15 minutes, and very late cameos for Traore and Walker-Peters, but the only player who will remember the last 20 minutes will be Wan-Bissaka, taking a boot to the nose the only highlight of the game's final stages.

Burnley look gone, a flurry of positive performances and promising points in draws against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United just not enough to get them in touching distance of the pack ahead of them that is still fighting for survival. This, it felt, was their last chance, and they were always a yard short of the quality their opponents offered.

For West Ham, the fight is truly on. It is three points now to Forest above them, and momentum in their favour. But form is a fickle beast, and the Hammers must keep winning whilst they have it.

More than just the points, West Ham deserved their win and played out a different type of game than recent outings. This wasn't all-out, breathless from the front and constant hard work. The Hammers were smart, and used their quality to hurt Burnley. They were able to rest Pablo, a huge bonus considering his defensive work will likely be key against Manchester United on Tuesday night.

The clean sheet is also massive, especially for the confidence of Hermansen, a change that paid off for the manager, and also for Disasi. Not only will it bring him confidence to come in and immediately bring his new side a clean sheet, it will help the players feel confident in him.

There are tougher challenges to come, but West Ham's problem has been facing these big games with composure and gaining points. They will a different side to the one who threw away games against Fulham, Forest and Wolves. If they can keep this up, they'll have done all they can to survive.




Manager's Rating

Nuno Espirito Santo: 8/10 All his changes worked. Hermansen and Disasi slotted in seamlessly and made a clear impact, whilst Wilson helped to give Pablo a rest and worked in a game where the defending did not need to be done with the same energy from the front. Potts coming on was better than an extra defender and halted Burnley's building momentum. A first clean sheet coming after those changes was his reward.

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Player Ratings

Mads Hermansen
Not wholly convincing, but that is two clean sheets for West Ham this season, and both are Hermansen's. The goalkeeper looked eager to make his presence known on crosses, and whilst it didn't look completely natural, he should gain confidence and any improvement here could make a big difference to a defence that struggles with crosses.


Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Didn't offer the attacking presence he has in recent games, but defended well and saved a certain goal when the ball rolled to Edwards only yards out and with the goal gaping.


El Hadji Malick Diouf
Scarles had done well in Diouf's absence, but the left back has come in and shown why he is first choice. He defends well, still improving in the rigours of Premier League football, but it is his delivery from wide that sets him apart. The cross for Castellanos's goal was perfect in every way, with a beautiful curl, wonderful pace and flight, and in the exact spot it needed to be to make the striker's job easy.


Konstantinos Mavropanos
Busy, with more than double the clearances (9) of any other West Ham player, and reasonable composure on the ball. Flemming is not a high quality striker, but he is physical and keeps his defenders honest, and Mavropanos stood up to the challenge and offered him very little to pounce on.


Axel Disasi
A much quieter game from Disasi than his partner, but quiet in a way you appreciate from a defender. He was composed, did his work without a fuss, comfortable with the physicality of his opponents, and didn't look either new to the team or in his first real game since April. His passing was very good, using both feet to play forward at a good tempo. A very promising start.


Tomas Soucek
Solid and unspectacular, he's been consistently better across games since being given a more simplified role, but he doesn't get into the box as much and so won't hit the heights of his best times at the club. His passing has improved for just playing a restricted role.


Mateus Fernandes
Increasingly clear as West Ham's best player, the midfielder has grown and grown in the shirt, but with great strides in the last month. Now he is dictating the play and is an influence in every third, defending with fight and bite, driving forward at pace, and playing exquisite passes. The goal threat, be it his own or creating, has been key lately, and he gets West Ham off the mark by leaving opponents in the dust on a driving run and then weighting his pass perfectly for Summerville.


Taty Castellanos
It was a quieter game for Taty, without that constant defensive work from the front that he plays with Pablo. But then he got a single chance and took it absolutely perfectly. Since joining, he has been a joy, and changed the team, but neither he nor Pablo had looked like the clinical goalscorer. This showed differently.


Crysencio Summerville
Just a completely different man since the goals started. It's not just those goals, now five on the spin, but his all-round game, with the winger confident in everything he does and beating players for fun. Walker resorted to bully-boy tactics to get hold of him, and a better referee would have stamped down on the pushing, shoving and consistent fouling that the right back got away with again and again. A lovely finish, the perfect little dink.


Jarrod Bowen
A couple of moments where he needed to do better, he's taken on a more selfless role since the change of system and is back closer to his initial Moyes-period of West Ham, where he worked the right channel all game, back and forth, without being the focus of the team's play. The chance to square for Summerville was simple, but wasted.


Callum Wilson
Just didn't get into the game at all, not that he didn't work hard, just not up to the pace of the others and not made for a fighting, defensive performance from the front. 7 passes in nearly an hour, the least touches or passes of any player who started.

Substitutes

Freddie Potts
(Wilson 57') The team improved for his presence, and he was combative and energetic. Not a massive influence, but useful.


Pablo Felipe
(Castellanos 79') A typical performance, even in cameo. Busy, defending from the front and making things awkward for defence and deep midfielders, but lacking a threat. Twice looked to be played in behind but had no pace to get away.


Ollie Scarles
(Diouf 79') Couple interceptions and a couple long balls completed. Job done from a late substitute appearance.


Kyle Walker-Peters
(Bowen 92') On for the final few moments to essentially waste time.


Adama Traore
(Summerville 92') As above - thrown on for the final few moments to essentially waste time and pick up an appearance bonus.


Alphonse Areola
Did not play.


Max Kilman
Did not play.


Mohamadou Kante
Did not play.


Soungoutou Magassa
Did not play.

Match Facts

West Ham United: Mads Hermansen, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Axel Disasi, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Taty Castellanos, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen, Callum Wilson.

Goals: Crysencio Summerville 13 Taty Castellanos 26                .

Booked: El Hadji Malick Diouf 0          .

Sent Off: None sent off.     .

Burnley: Dubravka, Walker (c), Humphreys, Esteve, Pires, Florentino (Laurent 46), Ugochukwu (Broja 78), Edwards (Tchaouna 68), Hannibal, Anthony (Bruun Larsen 68), Flemming (Foster 68).

Subs not used: Weiss, Worrall, Ekdal, Barnes.

Goals: .

Booked: Florentino, Humphreys, Laurent.

Sent off: None.

Referee: Darren England.

Attendance: 0.

Man of the Match: Crysencio Summerville.