Bowen on target as clinical West Ham down Crystal Palace
With these sides falling to 2-1 defeats in the PL’s opening weekend, the respective managers would have been keen to prevent back-to-back losses.
The Hammers should have taken an early lead after five minutes when Michail Antonio was picked out from a corner kick but the Jamaican international could only steer his header wide of the target.
The visitors continued their positive start as captain Jarrod Bowen broke down the left and picked out Mohammed Kudus, whose effort flew narrowly wide of the post.
The Eagles soon began to grow into the game and create chances of their own, with Eberechi Eze nearly breaking the deadlock after being played through by Adam Wharton, only for Alphonse Areola to quickly come out and smother the forward.
Palace continued to edge proceedings as the half drew to a close and Eze once again came close to giving his side the lead after being picked out by Wharton again, but this time the forward’s curling effort cannoned off the crossbar, sending the sides into the break on level terms.
Lopetegui’s men began the second half just like the first, dominating the early moments as the away side twice threatened down the flanks via Kudus and then Emerson Palmieri, yet on both occasions, the final ball was lacking.
The Hammers continued their positive start following the restart and Tomáš Souček was presented with a great opportunity to nod his side in front but he failed to connect with Antonio’s ball into the box.
However, the Czech international didn’t have to wait long to connect with the ball, pouncing on a loose ball in the box to power home in the 67th minute.
Eagles boss Oliver Glasner would have demanded a response from his players but instead, the Hammers doubled their lead five minutes later when Bowen drove into the box and clinically finished past Dean Henderson.
Palace’s poor second-half showing never improved and instead, West Ham coasted to victory, picking up their first three-point haul of the season.
Glasner’s Eagles are left still searching for a point and face a tough task in another London derby in their trip to Chelsea next week.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
