West Ham hit three past Watford to deepen Hornets' relegation fears
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Updated 17/07/2020 at 21:19 GMT
Premier League, London Stadium - West Ham 3 (Antonio 6', Soucek 10', Rice 36') Watford 1 (Deeney, 49')
Declan Rice
Image credit: Getty Images
West Ham enjoyed as good a start as they could have hoped for, going 2-0 up within the first 10 minutes. First, a dinked Pablo Fornals pass was deflected into the path of Antonio, who nutmegged Ben Foster with his wrong foot from a narrow angle.
Things got even better for the hosts minutes later, when Jarrod Bowen cut onto his favoured left foot from the right wing and played the perfect cross to Tomas Soucek, who continued his fine form with an excellent header.
Watford didn't have much to shout about, save an Ismaila Sarr effort which Fabianski saved well, and were soon in even bigger trouble when Mark Noble fed Declan Rice, who shot from distance and found the far corner of the net with Foster rooted to the spot.
Deeney tapped home a goal shortly after the break after Abdoulaye Doucoure struck the post but were unable to duly trouble West Ham thereafter.
The Hammers now are effectively safe, sitting six points clear of the drop zone with a vastly superior goal difference, with two games left to play. Watford will now have to keep a close eye on Aston Villa and Bournemouth's results in the coming days before they face daunting clashes with Manchester City and Arsenal.
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TALKING POINT - Where are West Ham going?
David Moyes has certainly done a creditable job since coming in but West Ham, with their ample stadium and spending, should be hoping for more than a relegation scrap.
Managers come and go but each campaign seems to follow a similar path for the Hammers. They have good players and the funds to improve but there is no sign that next term will be any different.
MAN OF THE MATCH - Michail Antonio
No player has scored more goals than Michail Antonio since the resumption of the Premier League and his fine form continued with a difficult finish on the turn, from an awkward angle, on his left foot.
But it's not just his goals that make him stand out, it's his work rate. When he's up top on his own, he's the first line of defence, when he's on the wing, he's constantly tracking back to help out his full-back. He displayed all of that in spades tonight.
PLAYER RATINGS
West Ham: Fabianski 6, Johnson 6, Diop 6, Ogbonna 7, Creswell 6, Rice 8, Soucek 8, Noble 7, Bowen 8, Fornals 7, Antonio 8.
Subs: Haller 7, Yarmolenko N/A, Balbuena N/A
Watford: Foster 5, Femenia 5, Kabasele 5, Dawson 5, Masina 4, Cleverley 5, Hughes 7, Sarr 7, Doucoure 6, Welbeck 5, Deeney 7.
Subs: Mariappa 6, Gray 6, Chalobah 6, Joao Pedro N/A
KEY MOMENTS
6' GOAL!! Watford play some suicidal football at the back and Fornals' dinked pass finds its way to Antonio via a deflection. The in-form attacker is forced to shoot from a very awkward angle on his left foot but he still nutmegs Ben Foster and first blood goes to the hosts!
10' GOAL!!! West Ham have had a dream start. Bowen picks up the ball on the right, cuts back onto his left and plays a fantastic ball to Soucek, who heads home at the far post. This could be huge for the Hammers.
36' GOAL!!! WEST HAM ARE THREE UP! The corner is partially cleared. Noble feeds Rice just outside the box and the England international hits it and it flies into the corner of the net. Foster barely moved and that's surely the three points for the east Londoners...
49' GOAL!! Are Watford back in this? Doucoure does fantastically, beating a slew of West Ham defenders before finding the post with his shot. But it falls kindly to Deeney, who passes it into the back of the net. Game on!
73' SAVE! An absolute calamity from Watford there as Kabasele heads a lofted through ball straight to Haller, who almost catches Foster off his line. The back-peddling England keeper gets enough on it to put it out for a corner.
82' Is that the chance for Watford? Sarr gets down the right and puts in a fine ball. Gray misses it, as does Ogbonna. Perhaps because of the two players in front of it not making an impact, Welbeck doesn't react and it hits him and drifts over. A great chance.
KEY STATS
- Mark Noble became the 10th player to make 500 West Ham appearances in the club's history
- West Ham have managed 12 goals in their last five Premier League games, more than they had in the previous 11
- No Premier League player has scored more goals than Michail Antonio's seven since the Premier League's restart
- Troy Deeney's goal was the first Watford have scored away from home in the Premier League since February
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