First Half
Moyes’ team came back from two goals down to level with Premier League leaders Arsenal last Sunday, then won 4-1 against Gent on Thursday to go to the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
However, relegation remains a serious danger, which they alleviated with a clinical performance in which first-half goals by Michail Antonio, Lucas Paquetá, and Declan Rice put them in command. Pablo Fornals, who came on as a substitute, scored a fourth midway through the second half to lift West Ham to 13th place and six points clear of the bottom three.
Despite their performance on Thursday, Moyes made only two alterations at the Vitality Stadium, one of which was the recall of his first-choice custodian, Lukasz Fabianski. . Antonio received another opportunity to lead the team, and he honoured his manager’s faith with a goal in the fifth minute.
The unmarked Antonio slammed home Aaron Cresswell’s nearpost corner for his 12th goal of the season (but just his fourth in the league) for Bournemouth. The visitors extended their lead eight minutes later, which must have irritated Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil.
Paquetá volleyed in Vladimir Coufal’s spinning pass at the back post after Coufal pounced on Marcus Tavernier’s ball and controlled Jarrod Bowen’s ball. Paquetá comfortably nutmegged Jack Stephens with the shot. It built on Paquetá’s good showing since the World Cup break, as well as his goal-scoring performance in the Hammers’ victory last Thursday.
West Ham fans were enjoying their trip to the south coast and quickly began singing about rivals Tottenham, who were 5-0 down against Newcastle after only 21 minutes. Bournemouth, on the other hand, were not about to give up, as Chris Mepham tested Fabianski with a header minutes later.
Jefferson Lerma was the next to try his luck, and Fabianski was up to the task once more, but his finest stop was yet to come. Dominic Solanke pushed past Nayef Aguerd and sprinted into the area, but Fabianski stopped excellently with his feet to keep West Ham’s two-goal advantage intact after 30 minutes.
Second Half
After withstanding Bournemouth’s comeback, Moyes’ squad delivered a sucker punch two minutes before halftime via their midfield talisman. Rice was the first to the loose ball and was on hand to slam home a diverted shot to make it two goals in a row this week. Soon after, the West Ham captain was entertained by away supporters, with shouts imploring him to remain amid speculation over his future beyond the London Stadium.
O’Neil replied by substituting Wales forward Kieffer Moore for Joe Rothwell at halftime, but it did not have the intended effect. On the hour, Bournemouth made three substitutions, including Dango Ouattara, the stoppage-time hero at Tottenham last weekend, but while he initially caused issues, West Ham were soon enjoying a fourth goal.
Bournemouth, who are currently 15th in the standings, will need to rebound fast before facing Southampton on Thursday. “We obviously dominated the ball, but if you watch West Ham, they have real strengths,” remarked O’Neil. “Basically, we couldn’t deal with them.“
West Ham captain Declan Rice then slammed the away team into a 3-0 lead two minutes before the interval, fresh from scoring his team’s third goal against Gent in midweek. The Hammers (72) were then boosted by replacement Pablo Fornals’ acrobatic effort.
Bournemouth had won four of their last six league games before surrendering two early goals, but Rice’s strike virtually ruined their chances of a comeback. With seven games remaining, West Ham leapfrogs Bournemouth to take 13th place in the league. With six games remaining, the Cherries tumble to 15th place, five points above the bottom three.
