Report: Eagles soar past Hammers at London Stadium

Summary:

• One change for Palace as Kamada replaces the injured Lerma.
• 9: Wan-Bissaka half-volleys wide for West Ham when in space.
• 12: Mateta forces Fabiański into flying save with first-time effort.
• 17: The Frenchman rises highest to meet Eze’s free-kick, but header deflects over.
• 30: Kamada blasts first-time effort over from distance.
• 45: The two teams cancel one another out in an uneventful first-half.
• HT: West Ham 0-0 Palace
• 48 – GOAL: Mateta drives at Kilman and slams low shot in from the edge of the box.
• 61: Lacroix found by inventive Eze set-piece, but the defender doesn’t make clean contact.
• 69: Richards makes crucial block to deny Ings inside the box.
• 79: Nketiah goes one-on-one but is crowded out by Fabianski.
• 80 – RED CARD: Mavropanos picks up second yellow card for West Ham.
• 85: Ings’ and Kudus’ headers threaten for West Ham.
• 88: Nketiah brought down by Fabianski on the counter.
• 89 – GOAL: Mateta squeezes penalty past the goalkeeper!
• FT: West Ham 0-2 Palace

Palace were bidding to extend their record six unbeaten Premier League away matches in a row, but came up against a West Ham team buoyed by the arrival of new manager Graham Potter – successful in his first league match in charge, against Fulham earlier in the week.

Oliver Glasner made an enforced pre-match change to his starting XI, with Jefferson Lerma – taken ill during the 2-0 win over Leicester in midweek – replaced by Daichi Kamada, returning to London Stadium for the first time since scoring the winner there during Eintracht Frankfurt’s UEFA Europa League-winning campaign under his manager.

When the bubbles had stopped flying, however, two teams set out like-for-like in shape largely cancelled one another out in the first-half, with clear chances at a premium. Palace were working the situations well but – up against a congested final third – but struggled for end product.

Indeed, the first real space inside the box went West Ham’s way when Aaron Cresswell picked out former Palace man Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but with not much of the goal to aim at, his bouncing half-volley trickled behind harmlessly.

It was the kind of game where a moment of magic would be required to break the deadlock, and Jean-Philippe Mateta almost provided it on 12 minutes with a fierce first-time effort across goal from Daniel Muñoz’s pass; Łukasz Fabiański did superbly to spring across his line and get a fist to turn it behind.

That was perhaps as close as either side would come in the first-half, with Mateta involved moments later as he rose to meet Ebere Eze’s free-kick – but his glancing header deflected over the bar.

Kamada was heavily involved and twice saw efforts from distance fly over the bar, but with ranks amassed by both teams on the edge of their boxes, it was simply a final pass missing for much of the first 45.

Then, not long after the restart, the game exploded into life: as he was on Tuesday, Mateta the provider of Palace’s latest ‘boom’.

It was a goal of real quality from the Frenchman for his 10th strike of the season in all competitions, Palace getting the ball forward quickly on the counter and Mateta – squaring up Max Kilman on the edge of the box – using the defender as a shield to slam a low finish beyond him and Fabiański into the bottom corner.

As could have been predicted, the opening goal saw the game open up, with Potter making a raft of West Ham substitutions in a bid to get back into the game, and the Eagles looking threatening on the counter.

On more than one occasion, a ball flashed into the West Ham box narrowly failed to pick out a yellow shirt – and Palace continued to threaten from set-pieces too, as Maxence Lacroix got onto the end of one Eze delivery, but could not generate the power to test Fabiański on the volley.

As the game entered its final quarter, West Ham’s fans made their presence felt – and they came close to drawing level with 20 minutes remaining as a Carlos Soler corner bounced threatening in the box, before reaching Danny Ings at the back stick.

Chris Richards – racing from the goal-line – was quick out to block, before Edson Álvarez fired well over the bar.

Palace were doing superbly to contain West Ham while introducing fresh legs, and one pair of them – Eddie Nketiah’s – could have doubled their lead within seconds of coming on, but after racing through on goal – albeit at an angle – was crowded out by the advancing Fabiański.

But the Eagles’ task would become considerably easier mere seconds later, as Konstantinos Mavropanos picked up a second yellow card after swinging his boot towards a throw-in, catching Mateta in the face in the process.

And despite Ings and Mo Kudus both threatening from headers inside the final five minutes, the result was sealed – again on the counter – when Mateta charged across the halfway line and slipped Nketiah in with an inch-perfect pass, the No. 9 getting cleaned out by the grasping Fabiański.

Up stepped Mateta again. And although his kick appeared to be saved by Fabiański, it rolled over the line in front of the away supporters, with Mateta strolling over the send another corner flag into the stratosphere.

Palace were then comfortable as the game went into injury time, with their second 2-0 away win in the space of four days marking the Eagles' first back-to-back wins of the season – and a first London derby away win since our late winner on the same ground in November 2022.

West Ham: Fabiański (GK), Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Cresswell (Scarles, 57), Emerson (Orford, 57), Rodríguez (Soler, HT), Álvarez (Luis Guilherme, 83), Souček, Kudus, Paquetá (Ings, 57).

Subs: Areola (GK), Coufal, Casey, Irving.

Palace: Henderson (GK), Muñoz, Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi, Mitchell, Kamada, Hughes (Clyne, 90), Eze (Nketiah, 78), Sarr (Devenny, 68), Mateta (Schlupp, 90).

Subs: Turner (GK), Riad, Kporha, Rodney, Doucouré.

As It Happened