West Ham United boosted their Premier League survival hopes with a composed 2-0 victory at Burnley, Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos scoring the goals that extended the hosts' alarming winless run. The result at Turf Moor moves Nuno Espirito Santo's side to within three points of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, while second-bottom Burnley are now 11 adrift of safety and edging ever closer to an immediate return to the Championship.
Summerville struck in the 13th minute with a deft dink over Martin Dubravka to continue his prolific recent form, before Castellanos' first Premier League goal for West Ham arrived shortly before half-time from a fine Malick Diouf cross. Burnley rallied after the interval and forced visiting goalkeeper Mads Hermansen into a series of saves, but the Hammers' reshaped defence held firm to end a 21-game run without a clean sheet and underline the gulf in class between the sides.
Clinical visiting start punishes Burnley's early sloppiness
On a gloomy afternoon in east Lancashire, Burnley's problems surfaced almost immediately. Having already been careless in possession, they were ruthlessly punished when Lucas Pires miscontrolled in midfield and Mateus Fernandes pounced on the loose ball, striding forward into space before slipping a perfectly weighted pass into Summerville's path.