Given the current predicament in which both sides find themselves, a rather tepid start to proceedings was hardly surprising. Everton dominated early possession without troubling Łukasz Fabiański, before Lucas Paquetá forced Jordan Pickford into a one-handed save, which seemed to tip the balance of play in West Ham’s favour.
With 34 minutes played, Jarrod Bowen was first to react to a loose ball, keeping himself marginally onside to put his side ahead. Michail Antonio then wasted a free header, but quickly made amends, showing persistence to set up Bowen for his fourth PL strike of the campaign - doubling his tally in under 10 minutes. Ahead of kick-off, no other PL side had scored fewer first-half goals than West Ham or Everton (6), and after striking the post via Alex Iwobi’s deflected effort, Everton maintained that dubious record heading into the break.
Energised, the Hammers looked to put the game to bed, hitting the crossbar through Emerson Palmieri after a lung-busting run. With time ticking away, Frank Lampard’s side desperately needed to turn their possession into something tangible, but it was the hosts who looked more likely to score next. A lack of cutting edge ultimately stunted the Toffees once again, leaving serious question marks over their PL status.
Declan Rice dragged a shot narrowly wide with 15 minutes to go, but that proved purely academic as West Ham assuredly saw off Everton, marking successive H2H home league wins for the first time since 1986. Meanwhile, the Toffees are now without a win in eight PL encounters, and haven’t tasted victory in their last 10 league trips to London.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United)
