West Ham moved up into the top-six of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Everton at the London Stadium.
Aaron Cresswell put the hosts ahead with a wonderful free-kick, before Mason Holgate’s deflected strike got Everton level shortly after the break.
Jarrod Bowen quickly restored the lead though and Michael Keane was then sent-off, allowing the Hammers to see out the rest of the match in relatively comfortable fashion.
It gets what West Ham hope will be a famous week off to the perfect start, with attention now turning to the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final tie against Lyon on Thursday night.
Bowen returned to the starting lineup in a big boost for West Ham, while Frank Lampard’s side suffered a late blow when Donny van de Beek was injured in the warm-up and had to be replaced by Holgate.
It was an entertaining start to the match, while Bowen having a shot drom distance saved before Jordan Pickford was quickly off his line to deny Pablo Fornals.
Ryan Fredericks produced a brilliant piece of defending to win the ball back off Richarlison, after the Brazilian had gone round Lukasz Fabianski, and a couple of minutes later West Ham took the lead.
Bowen was brought down on the edge of the area, and Cresswell stepped up to send a sensational free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.
Richarlison had another bigger chance shortly before the break when a Fredericks error let him through on goal, but he poked an effort over the bar.
Everton started the second-half brightly and got their reward within eight minutes of the restart. Richarlison played the ball back to Holgate, and his half-volley took a slight deflection as it flew into the far corner.
It was the Toffees who looked likely to go on and take the lead at that point, but West Ham ruthlessly punished an error to move back in front. Alex Iwobi let the ball run under his studs, allowing Pablo Fornals to play Michail Antonio clean through. His shot was saved, but the rebound came out to Bowen who passed the ball into the empty net.
For the third match in a row, Everton were then reduced to ten men. Keane, already on a booking after a rash challenge on Antonio in the first-half, went flying into the West Ham striker once again and brought him down. Michael Oliver wasted no time in bringing out a second yellow card and Keane had no complaints.
West Ham unsurprisingly took complete control from that point, and could have extended the lead as Fornals sliced an effort wide and Antonio was denied by a last-ditch challenge from Holgate.
That didn’t matter though as the hosts eased the victory, lifting them back into the top-six ahead of their European exploits.
