Fulham 5-0 West Ham United: Raul Jimenez scores again as hosts thrash Hammers

Raul Jimenez continued his return to form with another goal as Fulham thrashed lacklustre West Ham to record their second five-goal victory in five days at Craven Cottage. The Mexico forward, who sustained a life-threatening skull fracture three years ago, gave the hosts the lead when he headed in Joao Palhinha's cross for his fourth

Raul Jimenez continued his return to form with another goal as Fulham thrashed lacklustre West Ham to record their second five-goal victory in five days at Craven Cottage.

The Mexico forward, who sustained a life-threatening skull fracture three years ago, gave the hosts the lead when he headed in Joao Palhinha's cross for his fourth goal in five league games.

Marco Silva's side were in total control by half-time after Willian added a second from Andreas Pereira's cut-back and Tosin Adarabioyo out-jumped Kurt Zouma at a corner to head in the hosts' third.

Substitute Harry Wilson was denied by Lukasz Fabianski as a dominant Fulham pressed on - but the West Ham goalkeeper stood no chance of denying the Wales international when he curled a stunning left-footed shot into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.

Carlos Vinicius then sealed Fulham's second 5-0 win of the week, following Wednesday's demolition of Nottingham Forest, after Wilson unselfishly teed him up when through on goal.

The thoroughly-deserved victory lifted Fulham into the top half of the table, three points behind ninth-placed West Ham who missed the chance to climb into the Premier League's top six.

"It was a brilliant performance from us. The players understood the plan and executed it so well. It was almost a perfect afternoon for us," said Silva.

"Confidence builds confidence and the best example of this is Raul [Jimenez]," the Fulham manager added. "We are not really different now, we changed and adjusted some things but the faith in our players was always there."

Jimenez and Fulham hit their stride

Jimenez has struggled to rediscover his former level since he suffered that potentially career-ending head injury playing for Wolves against Arsenal in November 2020.

But the goals are beginning to flow for the 32-year-old again - as they are for a Fulham side whose shortcomings in attack appeared a major concern only a matter of weeks ago.

Jimenez's current run of four goals in five Premier League games is as many as he managed in his previous 49 appearances in the competition.

But, having scored twice in a Premier League game for the first time since January 2020 in the midweek thrashing of Forest, he has now scored in consecutive appearances for the first time since October 2020.

And, crucially for Fulham, the club's £5m summer signing is beginning to demonstrate he is capable of filling the void left by talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic's departure.

The Mexican's thumping header after 22 minutes ignited Fulham, who had been second best in the opening stages - though James Ward-Prowse's superbly hit free-kick from more than 30 yards out was Bernd Leno's only save of note.

West Ham, desperately lacking energy and ideas, were subsequently blown away in the space of 18 minutes as Fulham treated their fans to another excellent home performance.

A half-time substitute after the lively Willian picked up an injury which Silva will hope is not serious, Wilson hit the best goal of Fulham's five-star showing before collecting Harrison Reed's ball over the top and allowing Vinicius to slot in from close range.

The Cottagers scored just 10 goals in their opening 12 league games of the season. They now have 15 in their past four and, after a slow start, are looking up the table.

Meanwhile, this was a day to quickly forget for West Ham and David Moyes - just three days after the Hammers boss described his side's comeback win over Tottenham as "one of the biggest wins" of his career.

A win could have moved the visitors level with fifth-placed Tottenham, but with that opportunity missed they must now dust themselves down as they seek to clinch top spot in their Europa League group when they host Freiburg on Thursday night.

"Probably the Tottenham game played a big part in today. Mentally and physically we found it tough," Moyes said.

"We used up too much energy in midweek and we weren't able to get ourselves back. [But there is] no excuse for the result," he added.

Player of the match

JiménezRaúl Jiménez

with an average of 8.11

Fulham

  • Squad number7Player nameJiménez

    Average rating

    8.11

  • Squad number8Player nameWilson

    Average rating

    7.92

  • Squad number20Player nameWillian

    Average rating

    7.79

  • Squad number26Player nameJoão Palhinha

    Average rating

    7.71

  • Squad number30Player nameCarlos Vinícius

    Average rating

    7.70

  • Squad number18Player nameAndreas Pereira

    Average rating

    7.68

  • Squad number10Player nameCairney

    Average rating

    7.64

  • Squad number6Player nameReed

    Average rating

    7.62

  • Squad number22Player nameIwobi

    Average rating

    7.61

  • Squad number14Player nameDe Cordova-Reid

    Average rating

    7.55

  • Squad number12Player nameBallo-Touré

    Average rating

    7.40

  • Squad number17Player nameLeno

    Average rating

    7.36

  • Squad number33Player nameRobinson

    Average rating

    7.35

  • Squad number3Player nameBassey

    Average rating

    7.33

  • Squad number21Player nameCastagne

    Average rating

    7.25

  • Squad number4Player nameTosin

    Average rating

    7.25

  • West Ham United

  • Squad number20Player nameBowen

    Average rating

    3.95

  • Squad number14Player nameKudus

    Average rating

    3.94

  • Squad number7Player nameWard-Prowse

    Average rating

    3.91

  • Squad number28Player nameSoucek

    Average rating

    3.71

  • Squad number1Player nameFabianski

    Average rating

    3.66

  • Squad number10Player nameLucas Paquetá

    Average rating

    3.66

  • Squad number5Player nameCoufal

    Average rating

    3.55

  • Squad number27Player nameAguerd

    Average rating

    3.47

  • Squad number45Player nameMubama

    Average rating

    3.46

  • Squad number8Player nameFornals

    Average rating

    3.39

  • Squad number33Player nameEmerson

    Average rating

    3.32

  • Squad number4Player nameZouma

    Average rating

    3.30

  • Squad number22Player nameBenrahma

    Average rating

    3.18

  • Squad number15Player nameMavropanos

    Average rating

    3.09

  • Squad number3Player nameCresswell

    Average rating

    3.08

  • Squad number21Player nameOgbonna

    Average rating

    2.89

  • Line-ups

    Fulham

    Formation 4-2-3-1

    17Leno

    21Castagne4Tosin3Bassey33Robinson

    26João Palhinha10Cairney

    22Iwobi18Pereira20Willian

    7Jiménez

    • 17Leno
    • 21Castagne
    • 4Tosin
    • 3Bassey
    • 33RobinsonSubstituted forBallo-Touréat 72'minutesBooked at 75mins
    • 26João PalhinhaBooked at 45minsSubstituted forReedat 80'minutes
    • 10Cairney
    • 22IwobiSubstituted forDe Cordova-Reidat 79'minutes
    • 18Pereira
    • 20WillianSubstituted forWilsonat 45'minutes
    • 7JiménezSubstituted forCarlos Viníciusat 72'minutes

    Substitutes

    • 1Rodák
    • 2Tete
    • 6Reed
    • 8Wilson
    • 12Ballo-Touré
    • 14De Cordova-Reid
    • 19Muniz Carvalho
    • 28Lukic
    • 30Carlos Vinícius

    West Ham

    Formation 4-4-1-1

    1Fabianski

    5Coufal4Zouma27Aguerd3Cresswell

    14Kudus28Soucek7Ward-Prowse8Fornals

    10Lucas Paquetá

    20Bowen

    • 1Fabianski
    • 5Coufal
    • 4ZoumaSubstituted forOgbonnaat 64'minutes
    • 27Aguerd
    • 3CresswellBooked at 18minsSubstituted forMavropanosat 45'minutes
    • 14KudusSubstituted forMubamaat 64'minutes
    • 28Soucek
    • 7Ward-Prowse
    • 8FornalsSubstituted forEmersonat 45'minutes
    • 10Lucas PaquetáSubstituted forBenrahmaat 65'minutes
    • 20Bowen

    Substitutes

    • 15Mavropanos
    • 17Cornet
    • 18Ings
    • 21Ogbonna
    • 22Benrahma
    • 24Kehrer
    • 33Emerson
    • 45Mubama
    • 49Anang

    Referee:Paul Tierney

    Attendance:23,988

    Match Stats

    Live Text

  • Match ends, Fulham 5, West Ham United 0.

  • Second Half ends, Fulham 5, West Ham United 0.

  • Attempt missed. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Vladimír Coufal.

  • Foul by Bobby De Cordova-Reid (Fulham).

  • Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  • Hand ball by Tomás Soucek (West Ham United).

  • Goal! Fulham 5, West Ham United 0. Carlos Vinícius (Fulham) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Harry Wilson.

  • Foul by Harry Wilson (Fulham).

  • Emerson (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  • Attempt blocked. Divin Mubama (West Ham United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Emerson with a cross.

  • Harry Wilson (Fulham) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  • Foul by Emerson (West Ham United).

  • Bobby De Cordova-Reid (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  • Foul by Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United).

  • Substitution, Fulham. Harrison Reed replaces João Palhinha.

  • Substitution, Fulham. Bobby De Cordova-Reid replaces Alex Iwobi.

  • Fodé Ballo-Touré (Fulham) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  • Foul by Fodé Ballo-Touré (Fulham).

  • Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  • Harry Wilson (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

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