West Ham United moved out of the relegation zone with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Southampton. The win was only David Moyes’ second in nine Premier League matches since taking charge of the side for the second time and ended a run of seven games without securing three points, as per Sky Sports.
Jarrod Bowen did well to open the scoring on his first start, but the main man for the Hammers was Michail Antonio. His performance shook the shackles of relegation free and showed his teammates just what the east London outfit are capable of going forwards.
After the game, Antonio said: “You have got to go out there and have a go, score goals, create goals and defend and work as a team.” Moyes must take his forwards’ advice and go out guns blazing to attempt to secure Premier League survival.
The weekends win meant that West Ham no longer have the worst form in the top-flight since the Scot took charge at the London Stadium, having picked up eight points in nine matches. Only Liverpool, Manchester City and Everton have scored more goals than the Hammers’ 15 since the former Manchester United boss took the helm, and he must play to his attacking strengths to avoid falling back into the bottom three.
Nobody has hit double figures in the top-flight for the Hammers this term. However, that does highlight the incredible number of goals the squad has shared between them, 35. Only Everton have scored more in the Premier League’s bottom half of the table, 37, and Moyes must use that formula as a blueprint to outscore the opposition just as they did against the Saints.
It might be wise for the Scottish boss to keep the same personnel for his next fixture against Arsenal as it got the best out of Bowen, Antonio rated £10.8m (Transfermarkt) and Sebastien Haller. The Frenchman signed from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer ended a run of eight games without finding the back of the net and also benefitted from the support of having Pablo Fornals just behind him. It appears after a lengthy wait Moyes has finally found the formula for survival at West Ham, he must listen to Saturday’s talisman ensure it lasts until the end of the season.
