Burkina Faso
Chinese Taipei
Nigeria

Crystal Palace5 - 2West Ham

sportsmole.co.uk, 21 April 2024, 16:01
A rampant Crystal Palace made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season with an astonishing 5-2 thrashing of a sorry West Ham United side at Selhurst Park.

On the back of their Europa League exit at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, the sloppy Irons were out of the contest with just 31 minutes gone, as Michael Olise, Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta all found a way through alongside Emerson Palmieri's own goal.

A Michail Antonio strike provided the dumbfounded travelling fans with a slice of hope before the break, and the second period was unsurprisingly much more low-key, but Mateta's second of the afternoon restored Palace's incredible four-goal cushion, ensuring that a farcical late own goal would be meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

As Palace rejoiced in a remarkable win which lifted them up to 14th in the Premier League table above Brentford, West Ham travelled home with their heads bowed, having missed their chance to leapfrog Manchester United and Newcastle United into the European positions.

Despite returning from a back injury in time for the Europa League in midweek, Jarrod Bowen was absent from the Irons' XI at Selhurst Park, and one would have paid a pretty penny for the Englishman's thoughts in the first half.

Indeed, a Palace side boosted by the presences of Chris Richards and Will Hughes tore the Europa Conference League champions to shreds in an early demolition job, which commenced with just seven minutes gone.

Joachim Andersen was found in an unfamiliar left-wing position on the edge of the box, but the Dane nevertheless delivered a delightful ball into Olise, who headed into an empty net as Lukasz Fabianski came for the cross and missed.

However, the Pole was powerless to prevent the other jewel in the Eagles crown notching the hosts' second in the 16th minute, as a move which began with Kurt Zouma's sloppy pass being intercepted by Richards ended with Eze firing a wonderful bicycle kick into the roof of the net after Fabianski had deflected Mateta's shot into his path.

Just four minutes later, the home end at Selhurst Park were in raptures again, and West Ham only had themselves to blame; Fabianski and Emerson inexplicably failed to cut out Hughes's cross between them, and the miscommunication saw the left-back stick a foot out and divert the ball into his own net.

Prolific Palace set new record as Moyes achieves unwanted first

With just 20 minutes gone, Palace had never been 3-0 up so early in a Premier League fixture, and just past the half hour mark, Oliver Glasner's side astonishingly had their fourth.

Once again, West Ham lost the ball inside their own half - Mohammed Kudus was culpable this time - and a sweeping move saw Eze slip in Olise, whose ball across the box was tapped in by an unmarked Mateta.

It was all far too easy for Palace against their meek visitors, but Glasner's men were being ruthless when the chances came, and with 31 minutes gone, a team led by Moyes had never been 4-0 down so early in a Premier League game before.

A chance to restore a miniscule sense of pride came and went for Antonio in the 35th minute, as he volleyed James Ward-Prowse's free kick over the top from close range, but the striker would atone for that mistake in the 40th, sticking a leg out to prod home from Tomas Soucek's looping header.

There was barely a hint of celebration from an otherwise abysmal West Ham, who could have easily been 5-1 down at the break, but Andersen wasted a well-worked corner routine by heading over at the back post.

Half-time changes were inevitable on the West Ham end - Aaron Cresswell and Ben Johnson replaced Soucek and Angelo Ogbonna - while Adam Wharton was forced off just after the hour mark following a clash of knees with Emerson.

Unlike Arsenal's historic 7-5 win over Reading in the 2012-13 EFL Cup, Antonio's late first-half goal would not be the catalyst for an unbelievable comeback, as Palace restored their four-goal lead in the 64th minute - Eze cheekily nutmegged Zouma to find Mateta, who had enough time to adjust himself in the box and fire into the bottom corner.

The hosts could hardly be more comfortable as the clock ticked down, although Dean Henderson channelled his inner Arijanet Muric in the 89th minute to put a slight dampener on the result, allowing a bouncing Tyrick Mitchell backpass to roll under his boot and into the net.

The party mood at Selhurst Park was hardly affected, though, and Palace now bid to prolong their purple patch at home to Newcastle United on Wednesday, while the disjointed Hammers have a week off before hosting Liverpool next Saturday lunchtime.

Top News

4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk After leapfrogging their London rivals in the Premier League table on Thursday evening, Chelsea host fellow European outsiders West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will attempt to reach a notable milestone in Sunday's Premier League home clash with Tottenham Hotspur. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly confident that Son Heung-min will sign a new deal at the club. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Xavi is reportedly pushing for his club to sign Manchester City attacker Bernardo Silva during this summer's transfer window. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly interested in signing Lazio goalkeeper Christos Mandas. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison is reportedly one of the players who could be sold as part of Ange Postecoglou's summer clearout. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table clash on Monday evening as Konyaspor host Fenerbahce at the Torku Arena. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea and West Ham United will be looking to strengthen their bid to qualify for Europe when they square off at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Still in the running for European football next season, deposed Serie A champions Napoli meet relegation-threatened Udinese on Monday evening. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Still in the hunt for two trophies this season, Atalanta BC will aim to keep the pressure on Serie A's top five when they visit relegated Salernitana on Monday. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly identified Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey as a potential signing during this summer's transfer window. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min - like many of his teammates - was found wanting in Spurs' 2-0 Premier League loss to London rivals Chelsea in midweek, where the Lilywhites' fleeting Champions League chances suffered another crushing blow. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford will reportedly hold showdown talks with the Manchester United hierarchy in a bid to address his struggles during the 2023-24 campaign. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk England boss Gareth Southgate is reportedly not considering including Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho in his squad for this summer's European Championship. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Atlanta vs. Minnesota Utd (Sunday, 12.30am) Two sides currently in contrasting form go head to head in the MLS as Atlanta United play host to Minnesota United at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides separated by just one point in the Primeira Liga standings go head to head on Sunday as SC Farense play host to Estoril Praia at the Estadio de Sao Luis. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Sociedad vs. Las Palmas (Saturday, 1.00pm) Real Sociedad will be bidding to bounce back from their defeat against Real Madrid when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to Las Palmas on Saturday afternoon. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Monza vs. Lazio (Saturday, 5.00pm) Still vying for a place in Europe thanks to their recent revival, Lazio visit mid-table Monza on Saturday evening. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Dortmund vs. Augsburg (Saturday, 2.30pm) Three days on from their Champions League semi-final first-leg victory in midweek, Borussia Dortmund return to Westfalenstadion to welcome Augsburg for a Bundesliga clash on Saturday afternoon. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Le Havre vs. Strasbourg (Saturday, 2.00pm) Le Havre face Strasbourg at the Stade Oceane on Saturday afternoon in Ligue 1, a game between two sides who are battling against relegation with just three fixtures remaining in the season. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Celtic vs. Hearts (Saturday, 3.00pm) Celtic play host to Hearts on Saturday afternoon looking for the win that will move them a step closer to defending their Scottish Premiership title. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal vs. Bournemouth (Saturday, 12.30pm) Bidding to temporarily go four points clear at the top of the Premier League standings, Arsenal kick off Saturday's action with the visit of Bournemouth to the Emirates Stadium for the lunchtime kickoff. 4 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Braga will be looking to bounce back from last week's loss at Benfica when they play host to Casa Pia at the Estadio Braga Municipal in round 32 of the Primera Liga on Sunday. 3 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Lille host Lyon on Monday at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, knowing that a single point would be enough to officially claim a spot in the Europa League next season at the very least. 3 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Table-toppers Galatasaray will look to maintain their lead in the Turkish Super Lig title race when they host Sivasspor on Sunday evening at Rams Park. 3 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim has refused to rule out the suggestion that he has held talks over succeeding Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea boss. 3 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly placed Newcastle United's Alexander Isak at the top of their list of forward targets for the summer transfer window. 3 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The fight to avoid relegation intensifies as Gaziantep take on Hatayspor at Gaziantep Stadium on Sunday evening. 3 May 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides vying for a top-four finish go head-to-head when Istanbul Basaksehir host Kasimpasa at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium on Sunday afternoon.