West Ham United beat Sunderland 3-1 at the London Stadium to record back-to-back wins in the top flight and boost their hopes of remaining in the Premier League.
They will aim to build on last weekend’s dramatic 2-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur and put pressure on 17th-placed Nottingham Forest ahead of Sunday’s trip to highly-rated Brentford – broadcast on Sky Sports – Nuno Espirito Santo’s side found themselves in dreamland before going 3-0 up with a goal from Crisencio Somerville, a penalty from Jarrod Bowen and a stunner from Matheus Fernandes. half time.
The home side were helped greatly by Sunderland’s uncharacteristically lackluster first 45 minutes in the East End sunshine, but perhaps also helped by the absence of captain and influential midfielder Granit Xhaka with an ankle injury.
Crisencio Somerville leads West Ham against Sunderland
However, the quality of West Ham’s play was so high that it is unlikely that the scoreline would change even if the Swiss international played.
Somerville made the decisive breakthrough after just 14 minutes, heading home from close range after meeting Bowen’s cross from the right. This means the winger has now scored in his last three games for the club, after failing to score in 28 consecutive games since October 2024.
This inch-perfect assist meant that the Hammers captain was involved in more goals than anyone else in the club’s history in Premier League history (62 goals, 40 assists), one ahead of Michail Antonio.
The hosts doubled their lead 14 minutes later when Trey Hume caught Oliver Scarless inside the area, and Bowen kept his cool from the spot to put Antonio further away, and the best moment of the half came two minutes before the interval.
Bowen doubles West Ham’s lead against Sunderland with penalty kick
Fernandes, who has made a huge impression since joining from Southampton last summer, was given enough time and space to convert a shot from 30 yards, and the 21-year-old Portuguese’s effort sailed past a helpless Black Cats No. 1 Robin Roofs.
Regis Le Bris duly made three changes at half-time. Sunderland’s manager could have sacked all 10 outfielders, but the players responded by controlling the second period.
However, the only indication of the Black Cats’ improved effort was Brian Brobbey’s header midway through the first half, and their most notable action afterwards was when Xhaka was involved in a prolonged and heated confrontation with a West Ham fan on the visitors’ bench, which was monitored and subsequently cleared by the video assistant referee.
This incident could not ruin the Hammers’ day. Nuno’s side were unlucky not to add a fourth goal in the second half when Fernandes hit the underside of the bar with a long-range special, but with three wins in a row in all competitions for the first time since November 2023, Sunderland remain in ninth place, just two points behind Forest.
Fernandes scores with a long shot to give West Ham a 3-0 lead.
What the managers said…
West Ham manager Nuno:
“It was a good performance. We had momentum from the start, were very accurate and finished well. That gave the players confidence, so it was a good first half.”
Somerville celebrates giving West Ham the lead
“The second half was a big step forward in how we played the game, they scored, but the players stayed calm and composed, nobody got mad and it was a good performance overall.
“But we have to keep working hard and keep trying to make things happen. The players are connecting better, looking at the flow and understanding what we have to do. But we have to keep being aware. We are in a tough position and football is present. So let’s enjoy today.”
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris said of the altercation believed to have involved injured Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka and several West Ham fans behind the Sunderland bench.
“The bench is too far from the sideline so I don’t know what happened,” he said. “We don’t want to think about it. We think about ourselves. We weren’t at that level. It can happen.”
He added: “They were better than us and could have scored more. They were better in duels and more calm.
Granit Xhaka involved in altercation with West Ham fans at London Stadium
“It was way too far from our standards. In cases like that, you get punished in this league.”
