LONDON – West Ham United fans hope new manager Graham Potter will restore an inclination towards attacking football after a discouraging spell under Julen Lopetegui. However, Potter was pleased to secure a hard-fought 3-2 win over Fulham on Tuesday, putting priority on points rather than performance.
In their inaugural Premier League match, West Ham looked overwhelmed by the Marco Silva-led Fulham side, but managed to snatch victory, taking advantage of two uncharacteristic errors from their London rivals.
As the final whistle blew, a sigh of relief washed over Potter, whose side withstood relentless pressure from Fulham, climbing to 12th in the league table.
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“It wasn’t perfect, but after almost two years since my last Premier League game, a win—whatever it was—was all we wanted,” Potter reflected. “It might not have been a classic, but we’re delighted to bring home all three points.”
Potter noted that his team got off to a rough start. “We started a little timidly, and big respect to Fulham for putting us under pressure. We wanted to involve our fans more throughout the game,” he added.
West Ham were heavily exposed in the opening minutes, but took the lead thanks to an error by Fulham’s Andreas Pereira, whose errant pass into the penalty area was tapped by Carlos Soler, who fired home a powerful strike past goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
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In the second half, Potter brought on Danny Ings, a choice which paid off as Ings put Leno under pressure, allowing Lucas Paqueta to score what ultimately became the winning goal.
“I knew we wouldn’t win playing nice football today. It was all about forcing mistakes and creating something out of nothing,” Potter explained.
Fulham’s Alex Iwobi managed to score twice, bringing his side closer, but their impressive eight-match unbeaten run in the league came to a sudden end. Of those encounters, six were draws, prompting Silva to express his frustration at a performance that was not properly rewarded.
Silva said: “There was only one team pushing for victory until we gifted them that first goal. We controlled the game and even hit the crossbar. Our performance was solid, but we need to maintain high standards throughout the game.”
After this defeat, Fulham remains positioned in ninth place with 30 points.
