MX23RW : Thursday, May 25 19:11:15| >> :120:38084:38084:
[monks data]
West Ham logo
Premier League | Gameweek 38
May 23, 2021 at 4pm UK
London Stadium
Southampton logo
West Ham
3 - 0
Southampton
Fornals (30', 33'), Rice (86')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Bednarek (48'), Diallo (67'), Salisu (73')

West Ham United 3-0 Southampton: Hammers secure Europa League spot

West Ham 3-0 Southampton: Hammers secure Europa League spot
© Reuters
Pablo Fornals scored twice in the home defeat of Southampton.

West Ham ended a record-breaking season with a 3-0 win over Southampton and a place in the Europa League.

David Moyes' side, who were battling relegation last year, secured sixth place and their best Premier League points tally of 65.

Two goals from Pablo Fornals and a third from Declan Rice made it a club record 19th Premier League win of the season, and a first top-six finish this century.

A maiden appearance in the group stages of the Europa League now beckons for a side tipped to struggle again at the start of the season.

Whether Moyes can build a squad capable of the gruelling Thursday-night-to- Sunday slog is something to worry about another day. This was time to celebrate a notable achievement for the 58-year-old former Everton and Manchester United boss, now enjoying a genuine career renaissance.

A crowd of 10,000 were finally allowed into the London Stadium to laud a team which has exceeded all expectations, even those of Moyes himself.

Perhaps understandably they had a couple of jittery moments in the early stages, not least when a Southampton counter-attack saw Danny Ings and Stuart Armstrong combine to send Takumi Minamino through on goal.

The on-loan Liverpool winger lifted the ball over the advancing Lukasz Fabianski but it floated just wide of the far post.

West Ham almost profited from Alex McCarthy dropping a corner onto the shoulder of Kyle Walker-Peters, forcing Mohammed Salisu to hook the ball off the goal-line.

Craig Dawson looped a header onto the roof of the net and Fornals volleyed over before the nerves were finally calmed on the half-hour mark, when Jarrod Bowen raced onto Michail Antonio's header and shot across goal.

McCarthy could only palm the ball out to the feet of Fornals, who smashed home the rebound.

Two minutes later the hosts were two ahead, Fornals again the man in the right place to turn in a low cross from full-back Vladimir Coufal.

After the break Fabianski palmed an angled Minamino shot over the crossbar and, from the corner, acrobatically tipped away Jan Bednarek's header.

Nathan Tella then had the ball in the net but a linesman's flag denied him a second goal in three matches.

However, it was an underwhelming end to a streaky season for Southampton, a 15th defeat from their last 21 matches and an unwanted club record of most goals conceded in a single Premier League campaign.

That tally reached 69 when Rice capped a memorable season personally with the third goal, five minutes from time.

The young England midfielder, who has captained West Ham superbly throughout the campaign, collected a chip from Fornals, strode forward and stroked the ball past McCarthy to get the European party started.

ID:448761: cacheID:448761:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4708:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
 Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp celebrates after the match on May 8, 2021
Read Next:
Sunday's Premier League predictions including Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City37285494326289
2Arsenal37256683434081
3Newcastle UnitedNewcastle371913567323570
4Manchester UnitedMan Utd36216952411169
5Liverpool37199971432866
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton371881171512062
7Aston Villa37177134945458
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs37176146662457
9Brentford371414957461156
10Fulham37157155451352
11Crystal Palace371111153948-944
12Chelsea361110153642-643
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves37118183153-2241
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham37117194153-1240
15Bournemouth37116203770-3339
16Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest37910183767-3037
17Everton37712183357-2433
18Leicester CityLeicester3787224967-1831
19Leeds UnitedLeeds37710204774-2731
RSouthampton3766253269-3724

Ted Lasso creative

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!