No Marko, no problem as Perez leads from front
CARDIFF COLLAPSE AFTER RALLS PENALTY MISS
The sight of Marko Arnautovic limping off left West ham fans fearing the worst but this was about the Austrian’ s replacement offering a reminder of what he can do when given the chance.
The lesser-spotted Lucas Perez scored in the Premier League for the first time in 700 days, with his last strike coming for Arsenal in January 2017.
Despite that drought, the Spaniard helped himself to two goals that secured Manuel Pellegrini his first back-to-back wins as West ham manager in the top flight.
It could have been very different. Cardiff learned a harsh lesson here after the visitors’ Joe Ralls saw his first-half penalty saved by Lukasz Fabianski at 0-0.
Arnautovic had given that away with a clumsy challenge then was substituted because of a hamstring injury, before Perez led West ham in their second-half blitz.
Pellegrini’s side stormed into a 3-0 lead with Michail Antonio contributing the third.
After each of his strikes, Perez pointed to the name on the back of his shirt. he felt forgotten at Arsenal and may have feared the same at West ham.
Scoring is the best way to avoid drifting into obscurity and Pellegrini was short and sweet in his praise of Perez, saying: ‘Lucas hasn’t started so often before this game. he did very well.’
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock added: ‘I said to Manuel in the technical area, “how can we be losing 3-0 to you?!” he said, “I don’t know!” It would have been n interesting to see the penalty y go in.’
There was no Jack Wilshere at t the London Stadium, just a day y after Pellegrini said signing the e midfielder on a free potentially y saved West ham £100million.
Wilshere was nursing a pain in n his ankle and was left out as a precaution, - while the sight of Antonio at right back sparked flashbacks for West ham fans.
The last time he played there was against Chelsea on the opening day of the 2016-17 season, when he conceded a penalty before being immediately substituted.
Cardiff seemed to target that side, though only on the rare occasions they got out of their own half. They seemed satisfied to sit deep, defend in numbers and wait for chances to counter. It was all West ham in the opening half hour as Angelo Ogbonna tested Neil etheridge with two headers before Arnautovic saw a shot cleared off the line by Sean Morrison.
having survived the storm, the visitors started to inch forward. Victor Camarasa tested Fabianski from 25 yards before they were gifted a chance to grab the opening goal.
Referee Graham Scott pointed to the penalty spot after Arnautovic bundled over Junior hoilett, who had his back to goal. Ralls aimed for the right corner but Fabianski guessed correctly.
That save prompted a roar from the London Stadium, though they soon turned to groans when Arnautovic went down holding his left hamstring in the 40th minute.
On came Perez, who made his presence felt in the second half. A delicate through-ball by Robert Snodgrass left him with only etheridge to beat and he thumped the ball into the back of the net.
The Spanish forward then grabbed his second in the 55th minute, latching on to Arthur Masuaku’s assist and sneaking the ball beneath etheridge for 2-0.
It made Perez the first West ham player to score twice after coming off the bench in a Premier League game since Paulo Wanchope against Newcastle in April 2000.
It became 3-0 on the hour mark when Antonio, surrounded by three Cardiff men, met a cross and headed home.
West ham were cruising and only an almighty stoppage-time scramble inside the six-yard box ruined their clean sheet, with Josh Murphy heading over the line.
Love him or loathe him, 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 under their gritty Yorkshireman.
Warnock knew they should have gone in at half-time and paid the price. That is the reality of life in the Premier League.
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.