West Ham scored three late goals as they secured a much-needed win away to Nottingham Forest.
Jarrod Bowen scored in the 84th minute, with Lucas Paqueta netting from the penalty spot four minutes later and Callum Wilson adding another goal to round off a 3-0 victory.
West Ham registered their first victory of the season, which could help to ease the pressure on manager Graham Potter.
Going into this game, West Ham had lost their first two Premier League games of the campaign.
They were also eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Daily Mail Sport’s James Sharpe reveals what we learned from the game.
Lucas Paqueta stepped, stopped and stuttered. He passed his penalty into the bottom corner of the net and set off towards the delirious West Ham fans.
The Brazilian picked up an imaginary phone, before throwing away in disgust and kissing the West Ham badge on his shirt.
Quite the message from a player who has spent the last few days surrounded by speculation he wants to leave before the transfer window closes with Aston Villa said to be in talks over a potential loan deal.
West Ham have long insisted he’s going nowhere – and this showing seemed to suggest Paqueta feels the same.
What an enigma the Brazilian is. Scored a wonder goal against Chelsea but was then at fault for some of their goals in a dismal defeat last time out. Here at the City Ground, he punched the air in frustration one moment after passing the ball straight to a Forest player, or shanking a great chance wide, but the next was hustling back to win a free-kick in his own area to stop a dangerous attack or throwing his body in the way as shots rained down on the West Ham goal, twisting his past multiple red shirts and finally rolling in a penalty. No wonder former boss David Moyes used to say ‘maverick’ Paqueta used to drive him mad.
‘I think you saw a committed performance from a player that cares about the team, his teammate and the club,’ said Potter, who confirmed he expects Paqueta to remain at the club. ‘I’m delighted for him. That second goal was important.’
Lucas Paqueta showed his commitment to West Ham as he scored against Nottingham Forest
Liverpool
Arsenal
*18+, excludes NI. Terms and conditions apply
FERNANDES OFFERS NEW DYNAMIC
Potter insisted recently that no ‘silver bullet’ fired from the transfer market could fix all of West Ham’s problems. Maybe so, but a little bit of firepower would be nice for a start.
Step forward Mateus Fernandes. The £40million signing from Southampton is seen as a key missing piece in a West Ham midfield lacking in creativity, legs or leaders.
Fernandes started on the left of an attacking trio behind striker Niclas Fullkrug but tucked central to allow full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf to provide the width.
After a slow start, he grew into the game, won strong tackles, carried the ball out of defence well and drew important fouls when needed. He created the best chance of the first half with a neat run into the channel, picked out by Diouf, and then found Paqueta with a neat pull back who drew a save from Matz Sels.
Not a match-winning performance but enough flashes to see that he’ll have an impact for the rest of the season. The sound of the West Ham fans singing his name as he departed in the closing stages told you they saw it too.
New signing Mateus Fernandes appeared to provide West Ham with a new dynamic
SUMMERVILLE JUST LIKE A NEW SIGNING
Who needs new signings when you have players coming back who can, as the old cliché goes, be ‘just like one’.
Crysencio Summerville replaced Fernandes in the 82nd minute for his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury in Potter’s first game in charge in January. Two minutes later he set up Jarrod Bowen for West Ham’s opener and four minutes after that he drove at Ibrahim Sangare and won the penalty.
Less than 10 minutes on the pitch for the first time in nearly eight months and he changed the game.
West Ham have long missed a player like him, especially after the departure of Mohammed Kudus, who can run at defenders and put fear in their eyes.
For once, too, Potter was able to bring a player off the bench with the ability to change the game.
Crysencio Summerville played his first game since January and could be like a new signing
BEST OUT OF BOWEN
Just a few days ago, club captain Bowen was arguing with fans in the crowd. Now, he was showing why he is one of few players who should be immune from the ire of the crowd.
Fernandes’ arrival and Summerville’s return allowed Potter to tweak his formation, move away from his wing-back system he’s utilised over the first three defeats, and that not only made West Ham far more solid and stifled Forest’s counter-attack but also put Bowen back where he belongs.
Bowen is so much better out wide, cutting in from the right, and that showed here. He could have had a second goal, too, after he jinked past defender after defender only for Callum Wilson to nick the ball off his toe just as he was about to score.
Jarrod Bowen demonstrated that he is so much better out wide, cutting in from the right
PRESSURE, WHAT PRESSURE?
What a result for Graham Potter. Three straight defeats to start the season and 11 goals conceded had put him under huge pressure with speculation growing over his future just a few weeks into the campaign.
Another poor result here would have only cranked up the noise even though, in reality, he was unlikely to have been for the chop having just brought in key targets and his own recruitment team.
The victory against Forest could prove to be hugely important for Graham Potter
‘This is the world we’re in, you get written off in your job after a week, which is ridiculous,’ said a defiant Potter.
‘This world is about outcomes and results and ours have been damaging. In the end there is always noise and criticism, people lose trust and belief. That is why I am sat here and, with the greatest respect, you guys are sat there. I can do the job, I’ve done it for 15 years. I believe in myself. I believe in the qualities I have and I can also deal with the downside of the game.
‘You need the team to be with you and they have always been there and always been fighting.’
