West Ham tame Wolves to break back into top four

West Ham United boosted their hopes of finishing in the Premier League top four and earning a Champions League berth after an impressive first half helped them to a 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.

West Ham moved three places up to fourth on 52 points from 30 games, one more than fifth-placed Chelsea and three ahead of sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in seventh. Wolves stayed 14th on 35 points.

Jesse Lingard, Pablo Fornals and substitute Jarrod Bowen, who replaced the injured Michail Antonio, fired the Hammers into a 3-0 lead before Leander Dendoncker pulled one back for the home side in an action-packed first half.

Fabio Silva struck for the resurgent Wolves midway through the second but the home side were unable to make their late pressure count as the visitors held out in the closing stages.

Lingard fired West Ham ahead after a darting solo run from his own half in the sixth minute and Fornals made it 2-0 in the 14th with a deft side-footed shot before Bowen added the third with a 38th-minute effort.

Dendoncker’s header in the 42nd hauled Wolves back into the contest and West Ham were forced to hang on in the final 20 minutes after Silva beat visiting goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with a neat finish.

Late Batshuayi leveller stunts Everton’s Euro push
Everton midfielder James Rodriguez scored on his return from a long lay-off on Saturday against Crystal Palace but it was not enough to earn his side victory as the Londoners snatched a 1-1 draw with a late strike from Michy Batshuayi.

The Colombian had not featured for over six weeks due to injury. After coming close to scoring in the first half he broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, slotting a Seamus Coleman cutback inside the near post to score his 100th goal in European club football.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side had a couple of opportunities to extend their lead through Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison and they paid the price for not taking them when Batshuayi pulled Palace level in the 86th minute.

The Belgian forward had been on the pitch for less than two minutes and made an instant impact when he latched on to a through ball from Jeffrey Schlupp and fired a low shot past keeper Robin Olsen.

The equaliser further dented Everton’s hopes of securing European football next season and left them eighth in the standings on 47 points.

Palace stayed 12th on 38 points.

Batshuayi conceded his side were lucky to get a draw.

“Normally, Everton should win today. They had a lot of chances in the game but we stayed focused and concentrated. We had an opportunity and I scored so I am happy,” he said.

“It is a great finish but I thought I might be offside. It was a good performance for us and a good point.”