The Hammers made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since January as West Ham took a 3-1 result against Fulham on Sunday at the London Stadium.
Fulham found the back of the net early with Andreas Pereira attacking early (5′), but found a way to settle down soon after. Jarrod Bowen (29′ PEN), Gianluca Scamacca (62′), and Michail Antonio (90′ + 1′) scored for the home side.
“We didn’t start well and I have to give credit to Fulham, they did start well,” West Ham manager David Moyes said.
Scamacca, for West Ham, has: 2 goals in the Premier League, 2 goals in the UECL, and 2 goals in the UECL qualifiers. Moyes’ side has won every match the Italian has found the back of the net.
Fulham were visibly furious following the Scamacca goal as there was an intense VAR delay to see if there was a potential handball from the striker.
“I will not speak about the referee, sorry, because they will probably come after me and I’ll be off the bench or pay a fine,” Fulham manager Mario Silva said. “I am not here for that, I am here to manage my players. It was a difficult moment for the referee. It’s tough for him to see. He was so embarrassed when he saw it on the screen. The decision comes from someone in the VAR.”
VAR reportedly first checked the foal for offsides, and then for handball via referee Chris Kavanagh.
“I have seen it back. I saw a little bit at the touchline and I saw it when it came on the big screen,” Moyes said. “When I saw it, I thought he hadn’t celebrated because he thought he was offside, but he told me they were onside. I’ve seen it since and he sort of controls it, it comes down the side and if anything, it looks like it is going to hit his backside on the right side. From my point of view, I don’t see a hand involved in it at all. If you are Fulham, you are going to say you see a hand involved in it.”
Fulham are now winless in their last 16 London derbies in the Premier League away from home, recording 13 losses and three draws. They have lost all their London derbies this season against the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, and now West Ham.
Sunday marked the first time West Ham won a Premier League fixture after falling down 0-1 since December 2021 (against Watford).
“I thought we deserved the win,” David Moyes summarized. “We started slow, maybe an impact of playing on Thursday, but we grew into the game as it went on.”
Fulham are back in action next weekend, Saturday 15 October against Bournemouth.
West Ham have a mid-week Europa Conference League match against Anderlecht (13 October) before next Sunday’s Premier League match against Southampton (16 October).
