WEST HAM’S RELEGATION fears deepened as they crashed to a humiliating 3-0 defeat at previously winless Wolves.
The result was all but cemented in the first half as an early goal from Jhon Arias was followed by a Hwang Hee-chan penalty and superb Mateus Mane strike.
It made for a miserable return to Molineux for former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who is struggling to revive the fortunes of the Hammers and now under considerable pressure.
The London side remain four points adrift of safety in 18th place the Premier League after a run of nine games without a win.
Given that the tenures of his predecessors Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter proved shortlived, the Portuguese – already sacked by Nottingham Forest this season – may not survive much longer.
For once bottom side Wolves were not the ones doing the soul searching as they claimed a much-deserved first victory of the season.
Buoyed by ending their own dismal sequence of 11 successive defeats with a draw at Manchester United on Tuesday, Rob Edwards’ men were a team with a spring in their step.
Still with just six points to their name their fate seems certain, but their fans at last had something to celebrate.
The hosts started brightly and struck after just four minutes as Hwang, who had already made one good run, burst into the box and pulled back from the left.
Arias slid in to meet his low ball and tuck in his first Wolves goal from six yards.
That was enough for Wolves supporters to start taunting the Hammers that they would be relegated alongside them, and they were even jokingly chanting about winning the league when they doubled the lead on 31 minutes.
Referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot after Max Kilman failed to clear a cross and Soungoutou Magassa brought down Mane as they vied for the loose ball. Hwang sent his penalty down the middle.
Mane almost made it 3-0 soon after when Alphonse Areola saved his header with his foot but the lively teenager did not have much longer to wait for his first senior goal.
It came as he turned brilliantly outside the area and buried a low shot into the bottom corner from 18 yards.
Magassa blasted over as West Ham belatedly threatened but Hugo Bueno went close to a Wolves fourth when he forced a good save from Areola after the break.
Areola also denied Mane and kept out a header from Yerson Mosquera as Wolves continued to make the better chances.
With little prospect of turning the game around, Nuno opted not to send on new £21.8million [€25m] striker Pablo Felipe.
The home fans goaded their former manager as time ran out without the visitors managing a single shot on target.
Republic of Ireland international Matt Doherty was an unused substitute for Wolves.
Brighton 2-0 Burnley
Brighton soared to eighth place in the Premier League by snapping a six-match winless run with a comfortable 2-0 success over second-bottom Burnley.
Georginio Rutter gave the Seagulls a first-half lead on a bitterly-cold afternoon at the Amex Stadium before Yasin Ayari doubled the advantage early in the second period.
Substitute Loum Tchaouna came close to halving the deficit but Scott Parker’s struggling Clarets remain six points from Nottingham Forest in 17th after their wait for a top-flight victory stretched to 11 games.
Brighton began the day in 14th position after picking up only three points from 18 available during December, while Burnley arrived in Sussex having collected just two from a possible 30 dating back to October.
Seagulls forward Charalampos Kostoulas, who made his first Premier League start as part of four changes from Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at West Ham, was denied a 10th-minute opener by a marginal offside.
Albion continued to be the dominant side and edged ahead in the 29th minute with their first attempt on target.
After Ayari’s effort from the edge of the 18-yard box deflected off Kostoulas, the ball broke kindly for Rutter to slam his second goal of the season into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle.
Burnley, who made three changes following a 3-1 midweek loss to Newcastle, failed to win any of their previous 39 matches when conceding first in the Premier League.
The visitors threatened to snatch an equaliser in first-half added time when Lucas Pires’ low shot was repelled by the left leg of Seagulls goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
That opportunity proved to be a pivotal moment as Brighton doubled their advantage within two minutes of the restart.
Clarets midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu conceded possession on the edge of his own area, allowing Sweden midfielder Ayari to sidestep Bashir Humphreys and drill an angled finish into the bottom-left corner.
Kostoulas thumped straight at Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka before Burnley almost pulled one back in the 67th minute.
After Verbruggen flapped at Pires’ corner from the right, French forward Tchaouna nodded towards the unguarded net, only for Ferdi Kadioglu to produce a superb last-ditch clearance by heading the ball against the crossbar.
Pascal Gross, who rejoined Brighton from Borussia Dortmund on Friday, received a rapturous reception from home fans when he was brought on for the final 19 minutes as part of a triple substitution.
Fellow Seagulls replacement Maxim De Cuyper almost added a third six minutes from time when he rattled the left post with a curling free-kick.
Relegation-threatened Burnley offered little in response as Brighton finally registered a first Premier League home win over their opponents at the seventh attempt.
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West Ham in deep trouble after losing at Wolves, Brighton claim first win in seven
Wolves 3-0 West Ham
WEST HAM’S RELEGATION fears deepened as they crashed to a humiliating 3-0 defeat at previously winless Wolves.
The result was all but cemented in the first half as an early goal from Jhon Arias was followed by a Hwang Hee-chan penalty and superb Mateus Mane strike.
It made for a miserable return to Molineux for former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who is struggling to revive the fortunes of the Hammers and now under considerable pressure.
The London side remain four points adrift of safety in 18th place the Premier League after a run of nine games without a win.
Given that the tenures of his predecessors Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter proved shortlived, the Portuguese – already sacked by Nottingham Forest this season – may not survive much longer.
For once bottom side Wolves were not the ones doing the soul searching as they claimed a much-deserved first victory of the season.
Buoyed by ending their own dismal sequence of 11 successive defeats with a draw at Manchester United on Tuesday, Rob Edwards’ men were a team with a spring in their step.
Still with just six points to their name their fate seems certain, but their fans at last had something to celebrate.
The hosts started brightly and struck after just four minutes as Hwang, who had already made one good run, burst into the box and pulled back from the left.
Arias slid in to meet his low ball and tuck in his first Wolves goal from six yards.
That was enough for Wolves supporters to start taunting the Hammers that they would be relegated alongside them, and they were even jokingly chanting about winning the league when they doubled the lead on 31 minutes.
Referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot after Max Kilman failed to clear a cross and Soungoutou Magassa brought down Mane as they vied for the loose ball. Hwang sent his penalty down the middle.
Mane almost made it 3-0 soon after when Alphonse Areola saved his header with his foot but the lively teenager did not have much longer to wait for his first senior goal.
It came as he turned brilliantly outside the area and buried a low shot into the bottom corner from 18 yards.
Magassa blasted over as West Ham belatedly threatened but Hugo Bueno went close to a Wolves fourth when he forced a good save from Areola after the break.
Areola also denied Mane and kept out a header from Yerson Mosquera as Wolves continued to make the better chances.
With little prospect of turning the game around, Nuno opted not to send on new £21.8million [€25m] striker Pablo Felipe.
The home fans goaded their former manager as time ran out without the visitors managing a single shot on target.
Republic of Ireland international Matt Doherty was an unused substitute for Wolves.
Brighton 2-0 Burnley
Brighton soared to eighth place in the Premier League by snapping a six-match winless run with a comfortable 2-0 success over second-bottom Burnley.
Georginio Rutter gave the Seagulls a first-half lead on a bitterly-cold afternoon at the Amex Stadium before Yasin Ayari doubled the advantage early in the second period.
Substitute Loum Tchaouna came close to halving the deficit but Scott Parker’s struggling Clarets remain six points from Nottingham Forest in 17th after their wait for a top-flight victory stretched to 11 games.
Brighton began the day in 14th position after picking up only three points from 18 available during December, while Burnley arrived in Sussex having collected just two from a possible 30 dating back to October.
Seagulls forward Charalampos Kostoulas, who made his first Premier League start as part of four changes from Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at West Ham, was denied a 10th-minute opener by a marginal offside.
Albion continued to be the dominant side and edged ahead in the 29th minute with their first attempt on target.
After Ayari’s effort from the edge of the 18-yard box deflected off Kostoulas, the ball broke kindly for Rutter to slam his second goal of the season into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle.
Burnley, who made three changes following a 3-1 midweek loss to Newcastle, failed to win any of their previous 39 matches when conceding first in the Premier League.
The visitors threatened to snatch an equaliser in first-half added time when Lucas Pires’ low shot was repelled by the left leg of Seagulls goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
That opportunity proved to be a pivotal moment as Brighton doubled their advantage within two minutes of the restart.
Clarets midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu conceded possession on the edge of his own area, allowing Sweden midfielder Ayari to sidestep Bashir Humphreys and drill an angled finish into the bottom-left corner.
Kostoulas thumped straight at Burnley keeper Martin Dubravka before Burnley almost pulled one back in the 67th minute.
After Verbruggen flapped at Pires’ corner from the right, French forward Tchaouna nodded towards the unguarded net, only for Ferdi Kadioglu to produce a superb last-ditch clearance by heading the ball against the crossbar.
Pascal Gross, who rejoined Brighton from Borussia Dortmund on Friday, received a rapturous reception from home fans when he was brought on for the final 19 minutes as part of a triple substitution.
Fellow Seagulls replacement Maxim De Cuyper almost added a third six minutes from time when he rattled the left post with a curling free-kick.
Relegation-threatened Burnley offered little in response as Brighton finally registered a first Premier League home win over their opponents at the seventh attempt.
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