West Ham United 0 – 2 Crystal Palace
West Ham's poor performance, with Konstantinos Mavropanos sent off and Lukasz Fabianski awarded a penalty, highlighted the problems faced by Graham Potter, leaving · Filipe Matata beat Crystal Palace in the Premier League with a 2-0 win at the London Stadium. .
West Ham were lucky to beat Fulham in midweek, but it was a devastating performance and their overly cautious approach in the opening 45 minutes was ultimately punished. They failed to hit the target and their best chance – a horrific chip shot from Lucas Paqueta – summed up their attacking performance.
In the backcourt, they couldn't handle Mateta. Max Kilman blocked him, allowing the Palace man to fire into the bottom corner early in the second half and score for a third successive Premier League game.
Mavropanos was booked for two fouls in the opening game before Lukasz Fabianski brought down Eddie Ngain after Mateta released his strike partner in the box. Katia. The Frenchman took a penalty kick in the 89th minute to help Crystal Palace seal the victory and rise to 12th in the rankings.
Palace are unbeaten on the road in seven consecutive top-flight games, a club record, having won four of their last five away games. They also recorded back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time this season. The direction West Ham are heading is far less positive.
They were 10 points ahead of third-bottom Ipswich Town, but the mood was underlined by boos. There are mitigating factors with Jarrod Bowen, Niklas Falkrug, Crissencio Somerville and Michail Antonio out with injuries. But with trips to Aston Villa and Chelsea ahead, things could get worse for West Ham before they get better.
Porter: We lacked intensity
west ham united boss Graham Potter:
“I thought Crystal Palace played well. To their credit. We were probably a bit passive. We looked a bit long-legged and couldn't bring out any real intensity to put the pressure on us that I would have liked. We couldn't sustain the attack long enough.
“Although the game was 0-0, Crystal Palace were the better team and we held on. We didn't start the second half well and conceded a goal. The substitutes gave us more energy and we were in the lead, but the sending off affected us. We. Even then we were still pushing for an equalizer, which resulted in a penalty kick.
“Palace are at a different moment for us. They've been working together for a long time. I wouldn't say it's an excuse but it does seem that way (one game too much in a difficult week).
“Is it defense first or attack first? It's the defensive end and the offensive end and we need to improve both. If you lose the ball it's difficult to attack well and if you don't push the team back you end up defending one Team.” A lot. “
Analysis: Shocking attacking performance from West Ham United
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
West Ham United fans may be pleased with the statistic that all three shots scored against Fulham on Tuesday. But few saw the funny side of their side's attack against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
In the final third of the game, there were no shots on target and virtually no threats. This time, Mohammed Kudus took the lead in place of Lucas Paqueta, but whatever Graham Potter had planned, it was a shocker Performance.
There were groans throughout the first half as Lukasz Fabianski and his centre-backs exchanged passes with seemingly no intention of going forward. Crystal Palace are hard to knock down, but West Ham looked unwilling to even try at times. Is it better to maintain possession than risk losing it?
Of course, the absence of Jarrod Bowen, Niklas Falkrug, Crissencio Somerville and Mikael Antonio reduces their offensive options. But West Ham fans expect their team to provide a bigger boost, no matter who takes the field.
It's still early days in Porter's reign and he hopes more training time will lead to a more cohesive performance. However, based on this evidence, the mindset of this group needs to change to a more aggressive one.
Glasner: Excellent performance
crystal palace boss Oliver Glasner:
“I think it's the same result, winning 2-0 twice (also against Leicester City), but I think it's a huge difference in performance. It was a great performance today and I thought we were in control of the game the whole time, But we didn't” which gave West Ham a clear scoring chance.
“After half-time we scored at the right moment and then when they tried to equalize again we decided the game with a penalty. So I'm really happy with the result and the performance today and at Leicester I Just happy with the result.”
Matta continues his hot streak in front of goal
Sky Sports' Will Bitibiri:
Corner flags beware, Jean-Philippe Mateta is in hot form.
His brace against dismal West Ham United means Palace's marksman has now scored four goals in his last three games. That's four straight games from the start of the year, matching his return in the previous season in 2025. After a slow start to the season, he looked back to his dominating best, linking up with Eberechi Eze to break a new West Ham United record. The manager bubbles as they link up for another goal.
By assisting Mateta again, Eze has now provided eight Premier League assists for Mateta, with no Crystal Palace player assisting a teammate more times in the history of the competition. This number matches the previous record, with Michael Ollis also assisting Eze eight times.
“He always needs players around him who can give him the ball,” Glasner said afterward. “But when he's in the right spot to score, that's what we work on day in and day out with the whole team, then we know he's got an amazing finish.”