Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 50th Premier League goal gave Everton deserved victory over an abject West Ham as David Moyes’s former club completed a miserable week for the Hammers boss.
Thrashed at Aston Villa last Sunday and then beaten for the first time in 18 European matches by Olympiacos in midweek, Moyes’s side slumped to a third successive defeat in the space of eight days, with Calvert-Lewin’s second-half strike enough to earn the Toffees a 1-0 win.
West Ham legend Sir Geoff Hurst joined both managers ahead of kick-off in laying wreaths to mark the recent passing of both Sir Bobby Charlton and Everton chairman Bill Kenwright, with whom David Moyes worked closely during his long Merseyside reign.
Moyes had handed a first Premier League start to summer signing Mohammed Kudus, the Ghanaian deployed at No10 in a rejigged midfield, but his side never clicked in a dreadful first-half, Jarrod Bowen spurning the one real opportunity when scuffing wide from Lucas Paqueta’s pass.
James Tarkowski’s hefty challenge on Kudus sparked a fracas that saw both the Hammers man and Everton ‘keeper Jordan Pickford booked, contributing to five minutes of stoppage time that all inside the London Stadium could have done without.
Shortly the other side of the restart, however, the visitors were ahead, Calvert-Lewin turning away from both Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd to fire home his sixth career goal against the Hammers, more than the Englishman has managed against any other club.
Moyes reacted by sending Said Benrahma on in place of Michail Antonio, the Jamaican’s withdrawal no surprise given his struggle for form.
Everton, though, ought to have been two to the good on the hour-mark, Zouma and Aguerd again combining to be beaten by Calvert-Lewin, whose flick sent Abdoulaye Doucoure clean through on goal, only for the midfielder’s effort to be brilliantly tipped away by Alphonse Areola.
Calvert-Lewin and Kudus squandered glorious chances at each end, both spared by belated offside flags, but the closest the hosts came to a legitimate leveller was when Aguerd’s mishit cross almost beat a scrambling Pickford.
The England No1 then saved smartly from Benrahma on the volley to preserve his clean sheet as reward for a terrific defensive display from Sean Dyche’s men.
