B’mouth 0 – 4 West Ham

April 23, 2023 admin

West Ham moved six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone with an emphatic 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

After reaching another European semi-final in impressive style on Thursday, West Ham’s focus quickly switched back to their battle to beat the drop and they made the perfect start on the south coast with two goals inside 12 minutes.

Michail Antonio rose unmarked to head in Aaron Cresswell’s corner (5) before Lucas Paqueta doubled the Hammers’ advantage with a header of his own at the back post seven minutes later.

West Ham captain Declan Rice, fresh from scoring his side’s third goal against Gent in midweek, then thumped the visitors into a 3-0 lead two minutes ahead of the break before substitute Pablo Fornals’ acrobatic effort added a late fourth for the Hammers (72).

Bournemouth, who had won four of their previous six league games, responded well to conceding two early goals but Rice’s strike effectively ended their hopes of a comeback.

The result sees West Ham leapfrog Bournemouth and rise to 13th in the table with seven matches remaining. The Cherries drop to 15th and are five points above the bottom three with six games to play.

What’s next?

Bournemouth visit Southampton in the Premier League on Thursday at 7.45pm. West Ham host Liverpool at London Stadium the night before, also at 7.45pm.