West Ham 3-1 Sunderland: Bowen leads ruthless Hammers to back-to-back wins | OneFootball

West Ham roared to back-to-back Premier League victories in a rare 3-1 home win over Sunderland to go within two points of safety at the London Stadium.

Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen assisted Crysencio Summerville’s opener and slotted home a penalty before Mateus Fernandes’ piledriver rounded off a dream first-half.

Brian Brobbey pulled one back for the away side with under half an hour to go, but the hosts withstood late pressure for a precious third home win this season.

Sunderland midfielder Noah Sadiki saw the first sight of goal, testing Alphonse Areola from the edge of the box and the Frenchman tipped the shot over.

The home side were in control early on and sat patiently on the ball, waiting for space to open up in behind the Black Cats’ rigid low block.

It was breached by Summerville after 13 minutes, powerfully heading home his second of the season on the end of Bowen’s pin-point cross from the right wing.

The Hammers nearly doubled their lead when Pablo lashed over after running onto Bowen’s deflected strike, Robin Roefs giving him little time to adjust his body.

A looping header from towering centre-back Dan Ballard came close to an equalizer, minutes before Trai Hume caught the knee of Ollie Scarles inside the box.

Referee Thomas Bramall pointed to the spot, and the jubilant London Stadium was soon bouncing again as Bowen tucked the penalty into the bottom right.

The hosts were in dreamland just before half time as Fernandes played a fantastic switch out to Summerville on the left, launching the home side forward.

Fernandes collected the loose ball from Taty Castellanos’ shot and struck an absolute beauty from distance past Roefs for West Ham’s third.

Sunderland resolved not to give up on the game, as Habib Diarra slotted a through ball in behind to right-back Nordi Mukiele and rejoyced when Brobbey headed in the cross.

But their frustration was evident as Mukiele was visibly upset to have been withdrawn with five minutes of normal time left, as Wilson Isidor fired over at the back post.

Luke O’Nien sent the ball goalward from a tight angle on the right and Areola did well to prevent a freak goal by tipping it onto the woodwork.

Granit Xhaka was also unsettled and found himself in a verbal spat with some home supporters right behind the Sunderland bench, bringing the game to a halt.

In a truly hectic end to the game, Fernandes launched a second longshot on goal that rattled the crossbar, before the referee spotted a foul on goalkeeper Roefs.

West Ham battled hard right until the last, and celebrated as the full-time whistle confirmed a third straight win in all competitions.

The result piled pressure on Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest in 17th, with the gap between the sides reduced to two points before the 3pm kick-offs.

Analysis: Ruthless Hammers capitalize on travel sick Sunderland

It was a euphoric afternoon for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team, who after a slow start with the Portuguese at the helm are now within two points of Nottingham Forest in 17th.

The home side looked nothing like a team facing the drop, and nothing even close to the side that opened the season with a 3-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light.

The West Ham faithful hadn’t seen their side go two goals to the good at the London Stadium since last February, never mind three.

And for the last time they led a game by three goals, you must venture as far back as 2020.

Although the Londoners had only two wins at home before this afternoon, the Black Cats have only achieved two away wins all season, and 10 points in total.

There’s no doubt that Sunderland’s victory on the opening day set the right tone for their home matches since, but a 2-0 defeat at Turf Moor had the opposite effect.

Régis Le Bris had to wait roughly a month to see his team win away from home, a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, and haven’t repeated that feat since October.

Goals have been a primary issue in their struggles on the road, having scored just six while conceding 17, and so were never likely to recover a three-goal deficit – albeit they entered the fixture the better team on paper and by league position.

Sunderland’s record is proof that the home advantage isn’t a mere myth – they are yet to recover from the psychological barrier of a slow start on the road, and it has cost them against several sides they might have bested otherwise.