Premier LeagueWest Ham United 3-1 Sunderland
Saturday, 24th January 2026
by Johnny Conroy | Forum match thread
A first half masterclass from West Ham saw them win a third straight game with a 3-1 win over Sunderland.
Goals from Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen and a wonder-strike from Mateus Fernandes were the result of a dazzling attacking display from the Hammers.A 66th minute goal from Sunderland's Brian Brobbey brought on a few nerves round the London Stadium late on, but West Ham's resolute defence stayed strong ensuring victory. The absolutely massive victory for the Hammers means the gap between themselves and 17th placed Nottingham Forest has closed to two points.
Nuno Espirito Santo made no changes after his side's thoroughly deserved 2-1 victory over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. However, there were notable changes on the bench.
Lucas Paqueta's spell of absence continued, while Guido Rodriguez was not on the bench as the Argentine appears to be on his way to Valencia. Notably, this meant a shock inclusion for James Ward-Prowse on the bench. It was the first time the former England international has been included in a matchday squad since Nuno's arrival.
Sunderland started off the more dangerous side. In the first few minutes, the Black Cats troubled the West Ham defence through a very direct game plan. A long ball from centre back Dan Ballard led to early pressure on the West Ham defence.
From the resulting throw-in, a poor Taty Castellanos clearance fell to Noah Sadiki, who powerfully unleashed a left foot volley, forcing Alphonse Areola into an impressive save less than two minutes into the game.
Despite the early scare, it did not take long for West Ham to make most of their home advantage and begin to dominate possession. This spell of possession led to Summerville opening the scoring for the Hammers.
Bowen received the ball on the right hand side, instantly ran at full back Reinildo Mandava, created space and chipped a delightful ball into the box with his weaker right foot. The beautiful cross was headed home by Summerville six yards from goal, after a tremendous leap from the diminutive winger. It was the Dutchman's third goal in as many games, a sign of how greatly his form has improved in 2026.
Because of the opener, the game began to open up. Firstly, Ballard would have been disappointed with a chance he headed wide after some pinball action from an Enzo Le Fee cross.
Shortly after, Pablo Felipe skied over a great chance to double West Ham's lead following some neat play from the Hammers' forward line that saw the ball fall kindly onto the Portuguese forward's left foot around 10 yards from goal.
However, West Ham quickly built on their momentum and won themselves a penalty. Summerville was involved once more as he cutely passed to Ollie Scarles who made a dangerous overlapping run. The young left back confidently strode into the box and glided past Trai Hume before the Sunderland full back waved a lazy leg and brought down Scarles.
Captain Bowen stepped up to take the penalty in the absence of Lucas Paqueta and smashed it into the bottom right hand corner. Sunderland keeper Robin Roefs dived the right way but could not get a hand on the ball to prevent West Ham from going 2-0 up. Doubling Sunderland's deficit was so crucial because the Black Cats have won 16 points from losing positions this season, the second best record in the division.
Only 15 minutes later, much to the disbelief of West Ham fans, the Hammers had scored their third and were in absolute dreamland. Fernandes, who was absolutely brilliant throughout the first half, received the ball 30 yards from goal after a blocked Castellanos shot, and absolutely smashed the ball into the top left corner. It was a truly magnificent strike that actually began with an equally as impressive pinged ball from the midfielder towards Summerville.
Fernandes's thunderbolt was the last piece of meaningful action in what was an incredible first half for the Hammers. It was certainly West Ham's best half of the season and, in truth, I cannot think of a better 45 minutes in the post David Moyes era at West Ham. Every player in Claret and Blue rose above the pressure and put in an excellent first half display.
Unsurprisingly, Nuno made no substitutes at half-time; however, Regis Le Bris made three. Hume, Reinildo, and Romain Mundle made way for Habib Diarra, Dennis Cirkin and Chemsdine Talbi. This also led to a change in system for the Black Cats, as they switched to a back four. The switch perfectly exemplified how well Nuno had set up his team and how well all 11 players had performed.
The second half began in the expected way; Sunderland kept most of the possession as it would seem that Nuno understandably went for more defensive second half tactics. However, neither side were creating much with a tame Castellanos effort towards the goalkeeper being the closest effort in the first 20 minutes of the half.
However, 66 minutes into the game, Brobbey finished off a superb Sunderland move creating a nervy atmosphere round the London Stadium. It began with substitute Diarra excellently evading the West Ham midfield before travelling up the pitch and finding right back Nordi Mukiele who exquisitely crossed the ball into an unmarked Brobbey who headed home.
It was the first time West Ham's defence looked unorganised in the match, signalling how effective Sunderland can be when an opportunity would present itself. Diarra's crucial role in the goal proved how much the Black Cats missed the Senegalese midfielder in the first half.
Diarra's winning AFCON teammate El Hadji Malick Diouf was one of the three substitutes brought on by Nuno shortly after Sunderland's goal. Scarles made way for the 21-year-old Senegalese international, as Callum Wilson and Freddie Potts were brought on for Pablo and Castellanos respectively. Despite neither striker being a huge threat in front of goal, they both received widespread applause due to their incredible work rate throughout the match.
West Ham's nerves unfortunately were not going away, as a mistimed cross from substitute Luke O'Nien almost managed to squirm into Areola's net. The French goalkeeper was caught out by the cross and was forced to scramble across his goal and push the ball onto the woodwork before it kindly rebounded perfectly onto the floor and into his hands.
Rather strangely, much to the frustration of Sunderland fans who felt as if their team were building momentum, the game stopped because of an argument between Granit Xhaka and a group of West Ham fans sat behind the Sunderland dugout. It must be stated that the Black Cats massively missed Xhaka's leadership and calmness throughout the match. However, you cannot take anything away from West Ham who did not allow Sunderland to breathe whatsoever in the first half.
The final piece of action in a truly remarkable West Ham display was another bizarre sequence of events. A 92nd minute corner fell perfectly for Fernandes from distance, and he beautifully struck an effort towards the top left hand corner, mirroring his first half goal.
The ball cannoned off the underside of the bar and fell for a jumping Callum Wilson, whose header was caught and then dropped by Roefs onto Soucek's back before crossing the line. The goal was disallowed for a foul on the 'keeper, but replays showed how Soucek was pushed by Diarra before he affected Roefs claiming the ball.
More oddly, replays also showed how centre back Omar Alderete was squaring up to Konstantinos Mavropanos in the six yard box while Fernandes' shot hit the bar. However, it did not matter as the referee blew his whistle, concluding a magnificent 3-1 victory for Nuno and his side.
Overall, it was a brilliant West Ham performance both offensively and defensively. Sunderland, the side with the third best defensive record this Premier League season, could not handle the directness and general quality of the Hammers attack. In addition to that, you must say West Ham's defence is constantly improving. Both Jean-Clair Todibo and Mavropanos were excellent, only allowing Sunderland to one clear-cut chance throughout the 90 minutes.
However, many would argue that West Ham's two central midfielders were their best players yesterday. Soucek and Fernandes covered 11.4km and 10.7km respectively, while playing with such confidence at both ends of the pitch. Soucek looked comfortable in possession throughout, something he has been criticised of in the past. In addition to that, he was formidable defensively, winning 100 per cent of his tackles and making a number of defensive clearances in the second half.
As for Fernandes, West Ham have an absolute star. The 21-year-old played with an exuberance of confidence, something that is usually seen well beyond his years. He was flawless going forward, only losing the ball a couple of times plus made a number of key defensive contributions. All of that is without mentioning his wonder strike.
Next week, West Ham will aim to leapfrog Forest in the table with a win at Stamford Bridge against Liam Rosenior's Chelsea.
Manager's Rating
Nuno Espirito Santo: 9/10 Had a couple of big selections to make before the game in terms of formation and personnel but he was proved right in every decision. The choice to stick with the same line-up as Tottenham away was a brilliant one. Furthermore, he showed great flexibility in the second half with his tactics that nullified Sunderland's substitutes.
* Want to submit your match reports to KUMB.com? More details here ...
Click to view all West Ham United vs Sunderland match reports Click to view all match reports by Johnny Conroy Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Alphonse AreolaMade no mistakes throughout the game despite the scare from O'Nien's cross. Distribution was good and his save from Sadiki in the first few minutes proved to be crucial.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Looked assured defensively, having no troubles against either Sunderland left winger. Could have maybe done more going forward if you were being extremely critical.
Oliver Scarles
Before being substituted, Scarles was dangerous going forward and comfortable in defence. Diouf is certainly not guaranteed to start when coming back into the team.
Jean-Clair Todibo
Another excellent display from the Frenchman who seems to be improving every week. Absolutely formidable in the first half as he glided around the pitch making key defensive contributions.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Followed up a good performance against Spurs with an even better one yesterday. Matched Brobbey's physicality throughout and looked comfortable on the ball. Perhaps would be slightly disappointed with his positioning for Sunderland's goal.
Tomas Soucek
Fantastic game from Soucek. Did not put a foot wrong all game and was dangerous at both ends of the pitch.
Mateus Fernandes
Wow. What a midfield performance. Comfortably the best midfielder we have had at the club since Declan Rice. As detailed in the report, he was absolutely brilliant all game. It was the complete midfield display. Would have been a 10 if his last minute shot went under the bar and into the top corner.
Pablo Felipe
Relatively quiet and did miss a good chance in the first half. However, his link up play was positive and did not stop working relentlessly.
Crysencio Summerville
Absolutely brilliant first half display. Now playing with such confidence in the way he runs at defenders and in the way he travels into the box. He will be crucial in our survival bid.
Jarrod Bowen
Fantastic. Bowen is back to his usual self and will be crucial to stay up. Reinildo did not know how to deal with him in the first half. Furthermore, took his penalty brilliantly and showed leadership throughout the entirety of the match. One of his best captain's performances for West Ham.
Valentin Castellanos
Really good link up play throughout. Worked incredibly hard. Just missing a clear chance in front of goal despite getting himself in good positions.
Substitutes
Callum Wilson(Pablo 71') Worked hard and did what was asked of him. No real impact going forward but certainly not his fault.
El-Hadji Malick Diouf
(Scarles 71') Looked really good defensively when coming on while showing some attacking intent to add to the lead.
Freddie Potts
(Castellanos 75') Nice and tidy when coming on. Nothing spectacular but what can you expect at that stage of the game.
Max Kilman
(Summerville 90+') On for the final few moments to waste time.
Mads Hermansen
Did not play.
Kyle Walker-Peters
Did not play.
James Ward-Prowse
Did not play.
Soungoutou Magassa
Did not play.
Mohamadou Kante
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Oliver Scarles, Jean-Clair Todibo, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Pablo Felipe, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen, Valentin Castellanos.Goals: Crysencio Summerville 14 Jarrod Bowen 28 Mateus Fernandes 43 .
Booked: Valentin Castellanos 0 .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele (O’Nien 83), Ballard, Alderete, Reinildo (Cirkin 46), Hume (c) (Diarra 46), Sadiki, Le Fée, Mayenda (Isidor 75), Mundle (Taibi 46), Brobbey.
Subs not used: Patterson, Geertruida, Rigg, Adringa.
Goals: Brobbey (66).
Booked: Ballard, Reinildo, Sadiki, Isidor, Diarra.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Thomas Bramall.
Attendance: 62,456.
Man of the Match: Mateus Fernandes.