West Ham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo faced intense criticism after his side suffered a 3-1 home defeat to West Brom at the London Stadium. The loss, West Ham's second consecutive at home, left them six points off the promotion pace in eighth place. Albion, slick and measured, moved into the top four as their 3,000 travelling fans celebrated the downfall of Nuno, formerly manager of Black Country rivals Wolves.
The Hammers' poor home form continued, having now conceded six goals in their last two home matches. Early anxiety was evident after Max Kilman's foul on Ousmane Diakite resulted in a yellow card. West Ham created the first major chance, but Mohammadou Kante's shot was deflected over.
After 20 minutes, West Ham fell behind to a simple move: Isaac Price's pass found Jimmy-Jay Morgan, whose low centre was finished by Felix Horn Myhre. Price missed a chance to double the lead, and the atmosphere turned toxic. However, Jarrod Bowen's skimming shot deflected off Callum Styles to equalise.
Bowen's seventh goal of the season wasn't enough to satisfy disgruntled fans, who booed the team at half-time. Within three minutes of the restart, Albion regained the lead as Morgan fired home his fourth goal. Despite pressure from West Ham, including efforts from Kilman and Kyle Walker-Peters, Albion sealed the win when Styles' deflected shot from 20 yards beat Mads Hermansen.
West Ham struggled to mount a comeback, with only Taty Castellanos' bicycle kick threatening in added time.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing