West Ham 3-2 Fulham: Potter wins first league match in charge
West Ham beat Fulham by the odd goal in five as Graham Potter clinched victory in his first league match as boss.
West Ham beat Fulham 3-2 in an entertaining match at the London Stadium as Graham Potter won his first league game in charge of the club.
The Hammers overcame a slow start to the game to lead 2-0 at half-time, with Carlos Soler taking advantage of Andreas Pereira's error before Tomas Soucek dispatched a second.
Alex Iwobi's cross drifted into the corner to half the deficit after the break, but Potter's side restored their two-goal advantage after another Fulham error, Lucas Paqueta netting when Danny Ings dispossessed Bernd Leno.
Another unorthodox Iwobi goal brought Fulham back into the game, but Marco Silva's men could not find a third.
Victory means Potter, who replaced Julen Lopetegui as the Hammers' boss last week, moves West Ham up to 12th, now just four points behind ninth-placed Fulham.
Data Debrief: Fulham fizzling out
Fulham’s run at the European positions is in danger after a run of two wins in 10 league outings.
And Silva will be particularly frustrated by the way his side have shot themselves in the foot in recent weeks.
The Cottagers have conceded at least twice in three straight league games and made two poor mistakes to gift West Ham goals at key times at the London Stadium.
Silva’s team won the xG battle 1.7-1.12 and had much the better of the shots tally, taking 21 to their hosts’ four.
That will mean little as the Hammers move closer to them in the middle of the table.