1. Lucas Paquetá assists Scamacca again
There was a familiar feeling about the way the Hammers netted their second goal against Fulham at London Stadium on Sunday.
Midweek, Lucas Paquetá found Gianluca Scamacca, who netted the winner in Belgium. And in east London, just three days later, it was a case of rinse and repeat from the formidable duo.
The Hammers No11 dinked the ball into his teammates’ path and Scamacca controlled the ball and chipped the on-rushing Bernd Leno exquisitely to put the Irons ahead just passed the hour.
The Italy striker hit his third goal in eight days with arguably his best finish of what has been a delightful bunch. Lucas Paquetá also registered his second assist in as many matches. Double-act.
2. Bowen steps up from the spot again
A bit of experienced play from Craig Dawson saw the Hammers awarded a penalty midway through the first half, when Andreas Pereira blatantly bundled the Hammers centre-back to the floor.
Referee Chris Kavanagh had little choice but to point to the spot, before Jarrod Bowen struck home his second penalty of the season with ease.
If his penalty against FCSB in the UEFA Europa Conference League was about power, the equaliser against Fulham was all about finesse from 12 yards.
A helpless Leno dived to his left, as the England forward rolled the ball into the opposite corner to score in his second consecutive league match at London Stadium. Clinical.
3. Key strength in depth
David Moyes has consistently spoken about the challenges of the Thursday-Sunday schedule. And this week, the Hammers squad depth shone, as we recorded our third win in eight days.
It was far from the perfect start for Moyes’ men as Fulham took the lead on five minutes when Andreas Pereira struck the opener. But the Hammers battled to their first comeback win in the Premier League this season, with Bowen, Scamacca and then Antonio all on the scoresheet at London Stadium.
What was most impressive is that the Hammers made nine changes from their midweek win over Anderlecht, with only Jarrod Bowen and Craig Dawson retained from our 1-0 win in Belgium.
Irons. And, well, lots of them.
4. Fifth straight home win over Fulham
An impressive goal-line clearance from Aaron Cresswell kept Tom Cairney’s late effort out of the net, before Michail Antonio rounded off the Hammers’ fifth straight home win over Fulham in stoppage-time, with his second Premier League goal of the season.
A third Premier League win of 2022-23 means the Hammers are now unbeaten in their last 12 home top-flight matches against the west London side (W8,D4).
And there is a similar record in the dugout too. David Moyes is yet to lose a home top-flight match against Fulham across his managerial career, winning 14 of his 15 home Premier League fixtures against the Cottagers.
