Newcastle thrash West Ham to boost Champions League hopes

Danny Clark

Callum Wilson celebrates putting Newcastle into a 3-1 leadAFP

Newcastle United’s pursuit of a first top-four finish in the Premier League since 2002/03 continues to gather momentum, as a brace from Callum Wilson fired the Magpies to a resounding 5-1 victory over relegation-threatened West Ham United at the London Stadium.

With two further managerial casualties in the Premier League over the weekend, Irons’ boss David Moyes knew the importance of building on his side’s narrow victory over Southampton.

However, a clash against top-four chasing Newcastle promised to be a much sterner test, with Eddie Howe guiding the Tyneside outfit to three consecutive league wins, including a convincing triumph over Manchester United last time out.

Callum Wilson celebrates as Newcastle go 1-0 upAFP

Despite the magnitude of the contest for both sides, the early stages were played at a frantic pace, with Bruno Guimarães diverting a dangerous cross from Jarrod Bowen against his own post.

Grateful for the early reprieve, the visitors wasted no time in asserting their authority as Allan Saint-Maximin tricked his way beyond Saïd Benrahma and lifted a clever delivery into an unmarked Callum Wilson, who guided a composed header into the far corner.

There's more joy for Newcastle as Joelinton doubles their leadAFP

Buoyed by the breakthrough, Newcastle doubled their lead just eight minutes later when Fabian Schär threaded a perfectly-timed through-ball into the path of Joelinton, who broke the offside trap and rounded Łukasz Fabiański to finish.

This spurred the hosts into life after a disastrous opening 20 minutes, and despite Lucas Paquetá and Michail Antonio wasting good chances, Kurt Zouma capitalised on a mistake from Nick Pope to halve the deficit going into the interval.

Callum Wilson scored his second goal of the game seconds after half-timeAFP

Having regained some semblance of composure during a topsy-turvy first half, West Ham immediately relinquished their momentum within 30 seconds of the restart, with Nayef Aguerd losing the ball in calamitous fashion, allowing Jacob Murphy to set up Wilson for a simple finish.

With just one defeat in their previous 10 away trips in the Premier League, Newcastle went in pursuit of further success against a fragile Hammers rearguard, however Fabiański stood firm to deny efforts from Murphy and Saint-Maximin.

Alexander Isak celebrates giving Newcastle a 4-1 lead, as Lukasz Fabianski looks onAFP

While aspirations of a comeback were always unlikely for the hosts, Newcastle deepened West Ham’s woes with two late goals. First, substitute Alexander Isak pounced on a dreadful error from Fabiański to loop a clever finish into an empty net, before Joelinton scored his second of the night with a powerful low effort.

The result ends West Ham’s five-game unbeaten league run on home soil, while Newcastle consolidate their place in the top-four with a fourth consecutive victory in the league.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United)