EURO STARS
Lingard’s special helps lift Hammers into the top four
JESSE LINGARD scored a goal-of-the-season contender to fire West Ham into the top four.
The England star underlined just why he might be the smartest piece of business this season with a stunning individual goal – his sixth in eight games since joining the Hammers on loan.
Eight weeks ago Lingard was in a footballing no-man’s land at Manchester United without a Premier League appearance to his name.
But he took a punt to move from Old Trafford to the capital until the end of the season and it’s proving to be win-win for all concerned.
He’s back in the England squad and showed just why with a blistering goal after just six minutes to get the
Champions League-chasing visitors off and running. It had all been set up nicely for the east Londoners before a ball had been kicked with all the results seemingly going their way.
The only bad news was that star man Declan Rice could be out for a month after sustaining a knee injury while away with the Three Lions.
But Lingard can make that absence all the more tolerable when he’s in this kind of form.
He was the star of the show even though Wolves hit back with a vengeance after being floored at 3-0 down.
Lingard’s solo strike saw him pick the ball inside his own half, turn on the turbo charge and speed towards the Wolves goal as he flew past four players before clipping a left foot shot home.
In the 14th minute he turned provider, cheekily clipping the ball to Arthur Masuaku in the left-hand corner and when he sent in a cross there was Pablo Fornals to steer the ball into the bottom corner.
Wolves had plenty of chances but failed to capitalise and Lingard proceeded to make them pay for that when he went on another surging run leaving players floundering in his slipstream before feeding the ball to Jarrod Bowen. Bowen had only been on the field 154 seconds after replacing Michael Antonio but made no mistake as he rifled a left-footed shot in off the inside of the post.
Wolves got one back just before the break when Adama Traore tore West Ham apart down the left and sent over a superb cross for Leander Dendoncker to power in a header.
That sparked a real revival and when sub Fabio Silva added a second with an angled drive in the 68th minute it was well and truly game on.
West Ham started to rock and Pedro Neto should have done better but blazed the ball over late on.
WOLVES (3-4-3): Patricio; Dendoncker, Coady, Saiss; Semedo, Neves, Podence (Fabio Silva 45), Ait-Nouri; Neto, Jose (Vitinha 72), Traore. Goals: Dendoncker 44, Fabio Silva 68.
WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell; Soucek, Noble; Fornals (Benrahma 78), Lingard, Masuaku (Johnson 67); Antonio (Bowen 36). Goals: Lingard 6, Fornals 14, Bowen 38.