January 01, (THEWILL) – With a 3-2 win at Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day, West Ham pulled within a point of the Premier League’s top four, surviving a late scare at Selhurst Park.
Arsenal’s late loss to Manchester City in Saturday’s early kick-off provided an opportunity for David Moyes’ side to solidify their Champions League credentials with a win.
Jeff Schlupp struck the post from close range for the hosts inside 60 seconds, with Christian Benteke’s bobbling cross landing to him on his weaker right foot.
While Palace dominated the first half, they needed a fantastic double stop from Vicente Guaita to keep West Ham from taking the lead in the 14th minute. Michail Antonio’s strike was deflected by the Spaniard, who had to get up and clear Said Benrahma’s header.
Guaita, on the other hand, was unable to keep Antonio out for long, as the Jamaican international put West Ham ahead. Joachim Andersen’s head was cleared by Benrahma’s tempting cross, and Antonio went in front of Marc Guehi to poke home.
Despite a sluggish start, the Hammers were two goals up mere seconds after Antonio’s opener. Declan Rice sped through the Palace middle and sent the ball to Manuel Lanzini, who juggled with the ball before hitting a stunning shot past Guaita.
Odsonne Edouard had a great chance to put one in for Palace, but his strike rattled the crossbar, and Benteke’s fast drive was saved by Lukasz Fabianski’s feet.
Patrick Vieira, who returned to the dugout following a brush with the coronavirus, will have been happy with his team’s continued response before the half, with Benteke challenging Fabianski once more and Andersen doing well to deny Jarrod Bowen on the other end.
Despite Palace’s encouraging resistance, following a lengthy VAR assessment, club captain Luka Milivojevic conceded a penalty for a handball. Lanzini came up to take the subsequent spot kick and converted it.
On the other side of halftime, Tyrick Mitchell’s slicing effort was deflected just over the bar, while Edouard shot towards the Holmesdale Road end.
The second half was quieter than the first, but Antonio tried to stir things up with a clever volley that went wide.
With eight minutes remaining, Palace scored thanks to Edouard’s tap-in off replacement Michael Olise’s enticing cross.
With stoppage time approaching, Olise’s in-swinging free-kick sailed straight into the far corner of Fabianski’s net, setting up a grandstand finish for the hosts.
As the ball was passed to Jean-Philippe Mateta for the game’s final kick, the Selhurst Park faithful surged to their feet in anticipation, but his overhead kick sailed just wide, and West Ham escaped with the three points.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
