Only when the conversation turned to cakes did Manuel Pellegrini finally crack a smile. It had been a stressful afternoon but now the celebrations could begin. Had his players got him a present for his 65th birthday?
'No… no cake,' said West Ham's manager. 'The three goals were the cake!'
With that he was gone. For the first time this season, though, he was able to head for home content at a job well done. There may well have been less stressful ways to spend a personal landmark but none would have brought this kind of rush.
West Ham new boy Andriy Yarmolenko scored twice to help the London side secure an impressive victory over Everton
Jordan Pickford desperately dives to his right but can't do anything about Yarmolenko's strike after the ball was given away
The summer signing then doubled West Ham's lead in the 31st minute after firing home a brilliant curling effort on Sunday
Yarmolenko celebrates scoring his second goal for the Hammers on his first start for the club since his arrival this summer
Marko Arnautovic put West Ham 3-1 ahead after finishing off a fine move in the 60th minute at Goodison Park
Arnautovic is mobbed by his team-mates on the hour mark as they edged closer to picking up their first points of season
The West Ham players celebrate in front of the jubilant travelling fans on Sunday as they finally got off the mark in the league
PLAYER RATINGS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE
EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Pickford 6: Kenny 6.5, Holgate 6, Zouma 5, Digne 7: Gueye 6, Schneiderlin 6 (Bernard 44 mins, 6): Walcott 5 (Lookman 77mins, 6), Sigurdsson 6.5, Calvert-Lewin 6: Tosun 6 (Niasse 69mins 6).
Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Baines, Davies, Dowell
Goals – Sigurdsson 45+1
Booked – Bernard, Calvert-Lewin
Manager – Marco Silva 5.5
WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Fabianski 7: Zabaleta 7, Balbuena 7, Diop 7, Masuaku 7: Noble 7 (Sanchez 71mions, 6.5), Rice 7: Yarmolenko 8.5 (Snodgrass 82mins), Obiang 7.5, Anderson 7: Arnautovic 8 (Antonio 64mins 6.5)
Subs not used: Adrian, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Perez, Antonio.
Goals – Yamolenko 11,31, Arnuatovic 61
Booked – Zabaleta, Masuaku, Rice, Yarmolenko, Snodgrass
Manager – Manuel Pellegrini 8
Attendance – 39,161
Referee – Martin Atkinson 7
Man of the match – Andriy Yarmolenko
Season at a glance
- Premier League
- Premier League
- Championship
- League One
- League Two
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Div 1
- Scottish Div 2
- Scottish Div 3
- Ligue 1
- Serie A
- La Liga
- Bundesliga
This is how Andriy Yarmolenko gave West Ham the lead in the 11th minute. Click here to find out more from our MATCH ZONE.
Pellegrini a few moments earlier had admitted that West Ham's owners 'had not been happy' with a sequence of four straight defeats to open the Premier League season but, at the most opportune moment, he masterminded a performance to clear the fog and lift his team off the bottom.
Though they were given more than a little help from Everton, whose defence was as effective as a chocolate fireguard, West Ham finally looked to be heeding Pellegrini's message. The final score of 3-1, inspired by star of the show Andriy Yarmolenko, was not flattering.
'I'm very happy with the performance,' said Pellegrini. 'First, because this is a very difficult stadium to (come to) win. Second, my players didn't have any doubts. Everton felt we came here to win the three points and from the first minute to the last we were trying to score.'
It was a hugely satisfying afternoon but there was no indication it was going to pan out in such a way. If anything, his decision to make six changes to the team that had lost to Wolves two weeks ago, smacked of someone who was throwing balls up in the air to see how they would land.
Manuel Pellegrini enjoyed the perfect birthday after his side picked up their first points of the 2018-19 league campaign
Earlier Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled a goal back for the Toffees on the stroke of half-time after powerfully heading the ball home
The Icelandic midfielder guided the ball into the corner of the net, giving goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianksi absolutely no chance
But, for the first time this season, the formula Pellegrini concocted reaped dividends. They were busy immediately, the midfield of Mark Noble, Declan Rice and Pedro Obiang scuttling and scurrying to stop Everton setting the tone.
The intensity was most noticeable in Felipe Anderson. His last visit to Merseyside on the opening weekend was a calamity and came as a culture shock for the Brazilian, who was left chasing shadows as Liverpool ran amok. Here, though, it was different and he had clearly toughened.
Such industry ensured West Ham plundered the vital first goal. Conceding the opener would surely have shattered their brittle confidence but they got an 11th minute shot-in-the-arm, as Obiang and Arnautovic exchanged passes before the latter squared to Yarmolenko to do the rest: lift-off.
Things would soon get better. When Noble pounced to win back Jordan Pickford's clearance, he set Yarmolenko away and the result was spectacular. He cut in from West Ham's right, jinking past Lucas Digne and Kurt Zouma, before bending a drive in from 20 yards.
Here was the stardust that West Ham's owners hoped their £17.5million investment would bring. When he departed in the 81st minute, his job done, all three tiers of the Bullens Road away section rose to give him acclaim. There can be no looking back from here.
Morgan Schneiderlin was replaced by Everton new boy Bernard in just the 44th minute as Marco Silva changed things up
Theo Walcott was fortunate not to have suffered a serious injury after Arthur Masuaku's left foot struck him on his head
Walcott holds his head in agony after Masuaku's left foot caught the Everton forward late on in the first half of the clash
'He didn't arrive here ready to play,' said Pellegrini. 'But he has a lot of quality and he always demonstrated it but he needed more pace and to work. We preferred to work with him for a couple of weeks. We talked with him and he was patient. I'm so happy for him.'
Those sentiments apply to the team as a whole. While there was much to like about the way they attacked, not least through the indefatigable Arnuatovic, West Ham needed spirit to weather a period of pressure from Everton that lifted the emotional home crowd.
Silva made the unusual call of making a tactical substitution in the 44th minute, withdrawing holding midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in favour of the Brazil winger Bernard and putting two men up front, and it paid instant dividends as Gylfi Sigurdsson planted a header past Lukasz Fabianski in first half injury time.
Everton had other chances. Cenk Tosun will have difficulty sleeping for the next couple of days after seeing a glorious headed opening palmed away by Fabianski, while another shot from the Turkey forward forced West Ham's keeper into sprawling action.
Scoring in that moment changed the atmosphere around the stadium and Everton returned with renewed enthusiasm that they could turn the situation around but, on the hour, West Ham managed to land the counterpunch to end the contest.
Cenk Tosun could have levelled for Everton after they went 1-0 behind but his header was directed straight at Fabianski
Fabianski palms the ball away from danger following the striker's header in the opening period of the Premier League clash
Yarmolenko gave the visitors the lead in just the 11th minute after he finished off a rapid counter-attack at Goodison Park
Yarmolenko wheels off to celebrate after opening his account for West Ham following his move from Borussia Dortmund
The 28-year-old Ukraine international is congratulated by Arnautovic after breaking the deadlock at Goodison Park
Once again, Everton had a role in their own downfall. Silva maybe missing several defenders but his teams remain worryingly open and they will continue to be exposed if they keep playing in this manner. Clean sheets, more than anything, are the route to success.
'It is a big lesson and we need to learn from our mistakes,' was Silva's solemn assessment. 'There is something about our focus we have to do.'
They were stripped bare by a simple give and go, Arnuatovic passing to Obiang, who returned the pass in a flash, and the Austrian did the rest, thumping a shot low under Pickford's body to leave those who had traipsed north jumping around in glee.
Everton kept going but there was no real conviction, not even when substitute Oumar Niasse rattled the bar from close range. They left the field to muted boos, the realisation that they have much work to do. West Ham, on the other hand, left the field to chants of 'we're gonna win the league'.
Fanciful, of course. But when there has been such disappointment and frustration, the chance for escapism is gleefully received. Pellegrini knows that better than anyone.
Defender Lucas Digne tries to escape the pressure put on him by Yarmolenko as Everton searched for an equaliser at 1-0
Schneiderlin fouls West Ham right back Pablo Zabaleta during the early stages of the Goodison Park showdown on Sunday
Everton fans proudly display a Neville Southall banner before kick-off to celebrate the former goalkeeper's 60th birthday
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/16/everton-1-3-west-ham-andriy-yarmolenko-gets-off-the-mark-with-brace/
Main photo article Only when the conversation turned to cakes did Manuel Pellegrini finally crack a smile. It had been a stressful afternoon but now the celebrations could begin. Had his players got him a present for his 65th birthday?
‘No… no cake,’ said West Ham’s manager. ‘The three g...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/16/20/5042CA3E00000578-6173531-image-a-19_1537126540709.jpg
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