Wolves 3 West Ham 0: Jimenez at the double in routine win

West Ham were lucky to keep the score to 3-0 as Wolves impressed en route to picking up a deserved three points in the Premier League.

Published : Jan 30, 2019 08:55 IST

Wolves players celebrate against West Ham.
Wolves players celebrate against West Ham.
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Wolves players celebrate against West Ham.

Raul Jimenez scored twice after Romain Saiss' opener as Wolves earned a fully deserved 3-0 win over a lacklustre West Ham at Molineux.

Lukasz Fabianski had done his best to keep the Hammers in the contest, but there was little he could do to stop Saiss scoring from Joao Moutinho's 66th-minute set-piece.

Jimenez's clever finish made sure of the points with 10 minutes remaining and a deft effort for his second completed the most routine of wins for Nuno Espirito Santo's side, who go seventh in the Premier League. 

It marks the first ever league double for Wolves over the Hammers, who have lost back-to-back top-flight games for the first time since October and failed to rebound from a humiliating 4-2 loss to AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Wolves had a strong penalty claim waved away in the 21st minute.

Matt Doherty burst into the area and was felled in a tangle of legs by Arthur Masuaku with referee David Coote awarding only a corner.

Leander Dendoncker tamely struck Doherty's centre straight at Fabianski, while Jonny was unlucky his stooping diving header from Jimenez's sublime cross trickled past the right post.

The hosts had a goal chalked off when Dendoncker headed in the rebound after the crossbar was rattled by Jimenez, who was adjudged offside.

Wolves' pressure did not relent in the second half and Diogo Jota and Saiss were both smartly denied by Fabianski.

Fabianski made another fine stop from Jonny's stinging effort, but the goalkeeper was finally beaten when Saiss headed in Moutinho's delivery from the resulting corner.

There was no coming back when Jimenez beat his marker to flick Moutinho's left-wing free-kick past Fabianski and the Portugal striker lifted a third over the goalkeeper from Jota's pass to a complete a rapid Wolves break.

Wolves deliver another Hammer blow

West Ham, whose misery was compounded by a seeming right foot injury to Marko Arnautovic, were desperately disappointing in their fourth-round loss at Wimbledon, and a third straight defeat in all competitions sees them stuck in a bit of a rut. But Wolves were slick, full of ideas and unlucky not to have more goals.

Doherty delights Molineux before Jimenez brace

There were several performances worthy of praise from a Wolves perspective with Doherty, who was denied what looked a good shout for a penalty and saw a shot saved by Fabianski, putting a particularly industrious performance down the right. Jimenez led the line with aplomb and scored two excellent goals late on that added the gloss Wolves' performance deserved.

Miserable evening for Masuaku

It was a tough outing for Masuaku, who constantly found himself in two-on-one situations with Wolves' midfield three providing support for Doherty. Struggling full-backs proved a trend for West Ham with Jota's guile and movement providing a tough evening for veteran Pablo Zabaleta.

Key Facts: 

- Wolves have completed a league double over West Ham for the very first time in their history – in the 30th different campaign in which the sides have faced.
- Raul Jimenez has been involved in 13 Premier League goals for Wolves this season (eight goals, five assists). The only player to have had more goal involvements in a Premier League season for Wolves is Steven Fletcher in 2011-12 (14)
- West Ham have now lost their last three Premier League away games without scoring a single goal - their longest losing run without scoring a goal since December 2006 (a run of seven).
- Wolves' Diogo Jota has had a hand in seven goals in his last six Premier League appearances (5 goals, 2 assists), including a hat-trick against Leicester City last time out. He had not scored or assisted a single goal in any of his first 13 appearances this season.
- Joao Moutinho has assisted two goals in back to back league Premier League games. He only managed two assists in his first 22 games this season.

What's next?

Wolves are next in action at Everton on Saturday, while West Ham welcome Premier League leaders Liverpool to London Stadium two days later.

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