NO MARKO, NO PROBLEM

THE sight of Marko Arnautovic limping off injured at the London Stadium left West Ham fans fearing the worst but the Austrian’s replacement lifted the Hammers’ spirits the way a striker should. Lucas Perez scored in the Premier League for the first time since January 2017, helping himself to two goals as the Hammers secured their first successive wins under Manuel Pellegrini. After each of his secondhalf strikes, Perez pointed to the name on the back of his shirt. He felt forgotten at Arsenal and may have feared he was heading the same way at West Ham. Scoring is the best way to avoid that. Arnautovic’s contribution had been to concede a clumsy penalty, which was saved by West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski, before being substituted in the 40th minute with what appeared to be a hamstring issue. Yet West Ham ran riot in the second half, scoring in the 49th, 54th and 61st minutes, Michail Antonio hitting the third. Cardiff’s Josh Murphy added a late consolation. Love him or loathe him, Neil Warnock knows how to get that little bit extra out of his players. Written off at the start of the season, Cardiff have put plenty of elbow grease into giving themselves a fighting chance at Premier League survival. WEST HAM (4-4-2): Fabianski 7.5; Antonio 7, Diop 6.5, Ogbonna 6.5, Masuaku 6.5; Snodgrass 6.5 (Diangana 76min), Rice 7, Noble 6.5, Anderson 7; Hernandez 6.5 (Carroll 64, 6), Arnautovic 5.5 (PEREZ 40, 7.5). Subs not used: Adrian, Balbuena, Zabaleta, Obiang. Scorers: Perez 49, 54, Antonio 61. Booked: Arnautovic. Manager: Manuel Pellegrini 6.5. CARDIFF (4-3-3): Etheridge 6; Manga 6, Morrison 6, Bamba 5.5, Bennett 5.5; Arter 5.5, Gunnarsson 5, Ralls 5 (Mendez-Laing 64, 6); Camarasa 6, Paterson 5.5 (Harris 73, 6), Hoilett 5.5 (Murphy 64, 6). Subs not used: Smithies, Peltier, Reid, Madine. Scorer: Murphy 90+6. Booked: Ralls, Bamba. Manager: Neil Warnock 5.5. Referee: Graham Scott 6. Attendance: 56,811.