Ecstatic Everton end losing streak in 2-0 victory over Hammers

Everton defeated a poor West Ham team 2-0, which saw the home side end their 4-game losing streak in the Premier League this season.

Goals from Bernard and Sigurðsson meant the Merseyside team clinched all 3 points against a woeful West Ham at Goodison Park.

Following their own poor performance against Burnley two weeks ago, Everton manager Marco Silva made 5 changes to his starting 11 that faced “The Hammers” today, and their excellent display meant the club achieved their first league win since 1st of September.

Bernard’s persistence in the away sides box meant he could squeeze the ball past the near post of goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez and substitute Gylfi Sigurðsson terrific strike confirmed the victory for “The Blues” in a match which was a must win for Marco Silva.

Everton had the opportunities to score more, however the likes of Iwobi and Richarlison squandered chances-English winger Theo Walcott came the closest to scoring with his thunderous strike hitting the cross bar.

West ham were dreadful throughout the match and lacked creativity to create any clear-cut chances during the game, with their best opportunity for a goal came from defender Angelo Ogbonna who struck the ball from close range, only for it to be saved by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford.

The London side now have 1 win from 6, meaning West Ham manager Pellegrini will need to sort something out fast due to his side enduring a poor run of form.

Everton struck while the iron was hot

Marco Silva’s side capitalised on a dwindling West Ham side to perfection.

The home side tested their opponent’s goalkeeper far more than West Ham did, which ultimately led to their win-Everton had 10 shots on target from 19, where as “The Hammers” only manged 4 strikes on target from 8.

With more than double the amount of West Ham’s shots in the match, as well as 11 corners to 2, it’s safe to say Everton were determined to end their horrid run of form.

It could easily have been more than 2 goals, especially when defender Yerry Mina headed in what seemed a perfectly legitimate goal from an Everton corner in the second half, although VAR did not see the need to overturn referee Paul Tierney’s decision.

Manager Marco Silva played former Arsenal winger Alexander Iwobi in the number 10 role and his decision worked superbly with Everton having lot’s of energy and pace going forward which caused problems all game for West Ham-a bold decision to play Iwobi there who hasn’t played in that position once at his time with his new side.

Following the match, goal scorer Sigurðsson spoke on his team’s performance to BT Sport.

“Thought we had a lot of energy…A real purpose to our game.”

“We pressed them high, passed the ball well and good movement.”

Disappointing day for West Ham

West Ham should have their sights set on the top six in this season of Premier League, with Spurs struggling and Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal in stages of transition.

However, the players clearly had other ideas after producing an poor performance which’ll be seen as infuriating for their fans as a win would’ve moved them up to 4th in the league table.

The likes of Anderson and Fornals struggled to create anything all game or even feed their sides lone striker Sebastian Haller who must’ve felt lonely all game.

Pellegrini attempted to change the game by bringing on Yarmolenko, Wilshire and Ajeti, but none made the significant impact necessary to turn the game into West Ham’s favour.

Only second choice keeper Roberto can be seen as the sole positive of the game, with the Spaniard making a number of smart saves to keep the goal deficit to only 2-although it could easily be argued that he should’ve saved Bernard’s first half strike which crept past his near post.

Man of the Match-Andre Gomez (Everton)

Former Barcelona playmaker Andre Gomez dominated the midfield in the early kick off today.

Using his flair and tricky he drifted past West ham players throughout the match, and his only dent in his performance was the yellow card shown to him late on in the match.

Gomez had a pass success rate of 80% (45 in total) and 3 successful dribbles, but his presence was huge in the match.

What’s next for both sides?

Winners Everton travel to Brighton next Saturday, 26th October and West Ham host Sheffield United, also on the 26th, with both games kicking off at 3pm.