Jarrod Bowen inspired West Ham to a thumping 4-1 Premier League victory over Ipswich Town to ease the pressure on manager Julen Lopetegui.
Bowen, who was left out of interim England manager Lee Carsley’s UEFA Nations League squad for the forthcoming matches against Greece and Finland, returned to his best form to secure Lopetegui his first home league win since replacing David Moyes in the dugout during the summer.
West Ham fell behind within a minute last weekend at Brentford, but they took the lead inside 48 seconds themselves this time around as Bowen’s low cross was converted by the impressive Michail Antonio.
The hosts’ lead lasted all of five minutes, however. Liam Delap is quickly establishing himself as a player of substance at this level, and when Lucas Paqueta allowed him too much time to retrieve a loose ball following a corner, the Man City academy product cut inside and clouted his powerful shot underneath Alphonse Areola.
Areola ought to have done better and he was rooted to the spot when Jacob Greaves flashed a glancing header just wide from Leif Davis’ free-kick later in the half.
West Ham seized their opportunity as not long after Mohammed Kudus had grazed the post from an inviting Antonio cross, the Ghanaian reacted quickest to convert from close range after Antonio’s header bounced back out off the underside of the crossbar from a Paqueta delivery.
Ipswich had been fortunate not to trail sooner, with Tomas Soucek’s shot being cleared off the line by Dara O’Shea after a mix-up between Arijanet Muric and Sam Morsy.
The visitors were the authors of their own downfall upon the restart as Muric struggled to control a backpass from Ben Johnson, presenting the ball to Bowen, who breezed inside Kalvin Phillips to find the far corner (49).
Paqueta added extra gloss to the scoreline with a simple tap-in from Bowen’s low cross to ensure only a second home Premier League win in 10 attempts for the Hammers, which moves them up to 12th in the table. Ipswich remain in 17th on four points.
It was a sizzling display by Bowen as his side ended their barren home run in style. West Ham spent around £132m in the summer transfer window – recouping around £32.5m – but started the weekend 14th in the Premier League, just two points clear of the relegation zone.
This win helps ease the lingering concerns around Lopetegui’s appointment. At times in the first half, they threatened to make heavy work of this first home league victory of the season. (Sky)