West Ham United made light work of Bournemouth with a 4-0 win at the Vitality Stadium, emphatically recording just their second victory from eight away head-to-heads against the Cherries.
Capitalizing on Bournemouth’s defensive frailties, the Hammers took an early lead when Michail Antonio headed in Aaron Cresswell’s corner. They doubled their advantage just 12 minutes in as Lucas Paquetá rose above Jack Stephens to head in Vladimír Coufal’s looping cross. Despite growing into the game, Bournemouth struggled to cope with West Ham’s intensity, and Declan Rice added a third before halftime, smashing in the ball after the Cherries failed to clear another corner.
After the break, Bournemouth’s defense continued to falter but initially went unpunished as Antonio missed a couple of chances. Manager Gary O’Neil made a triple substitution in an attempt to turn the tide, but it was a David Moyes substitution that paid off, with Pablo Fornals adding a fourth goal for the visitors, applying an improvised finish to Jarrod Bowen’s cross.
Although Maxwel Cornet’s goal was disallowed for offside, West Ham thoroughly enjoyed their performance, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games and moving six points clear of the relegation zone. The Hammers also advanced to the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final. Meanwhile, Bournemouth are left one point behind West Ham and will look to their three wins in the last five games for encouragement as they face Southampton, Leeds United, and Everton, all of whom are below the Cherries in the table.
Man of the Match:Declan Rice (West Ham United)
