Paquetá's Spark Sets West Ham on Fire in Potter's First Win, but Fulham Fight Back
Graham Potter's tenure at West Ham began with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Fulham at the London Stadium, as Lucas Paquetá's brilliance and some uncharacteristic errors from the visitors sealed the points for the hosts. The match was a rollercoaster, with Fulham pushing hard to ruin the party, but West Ham ultimately held on for a crucial win.
From the outset, Fulham looked the more promising side, creating chances early on, including a thunderous volley from Harry Wilson that hit the crossbar. West Ham, struggling to find their rhythm without a natural striker, seemed overwhelmed by Fulham’s early dominance. Yet, it was the Hammers who found the breakthrough. A forced error from Fulham’s Andreas Pereira allowed West Ham’s Carlos Soler to pounce, smashing home the opener from close range. Two minutes later, the pressure continued, and Soler was again involved in a fast-paced counterattack, crossing for Tomas Soucek to score West Ham’s second.
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Fulham, despite controlling much of the match, couldn’t keep their composure. Their defensive lapses gifted West Ham two easy goals, and they had no answer for the organized, if chaotic, counterattacks. Marco Silva’s side pulled one back through Alex Iwobi, whose excellent cross-shot caught out Lukasz Fabianski in goal, but the Hammers were not done yet.
In the second half, Fulham surged forward, determined to get something from the match. Raúl Jiménez came close with a header that hit the woodwork, and Iwobi’s skill on the left wing caused problems for the West Ham defense. But as Fulham pressed, they fell victim to another mistake. Bernd Leno, the Fulham goalkeeper, was caught out in possession by Danny Ings, allowing Paquetá to finish into an empty net for his second of the game, putting West Ham 3-1 up.
Despite the two-goal lead, Fulham continued to threaten. In added time, they pulled another goal back, with Iwobi’s well-placed delivery putting the pressure back on West Ham. The final minutes saw Fulham creating even more opportunities, but Fabianski stood firm, denying Jiménez and watching as Fulham’s late efforts came to nothing.
For Graham Potter, this was an important win, but not without its share of lessons. While he celebrated the high effort and team spirit from his squad, the defensive fragility and the failure to fully close out the game will be areas to address. For West Ham fans, the victory was a much-needed morale boost as they look to move up the Premier League table, while Fulham will be left to rue missed opportunities and defensive errors in a game they dominated at times but couldn’t control.
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