West Ham United fought back to beat Portsmouth 3-1 in their Carabao Cup first-round tie at the London Stadium, Valentin Castellanos scoring twice as West Ham opened their season, and their first campaign back in the Championship, with a win.
Portsmouth led from the 32nd minute, Adrian Segecic's strike taking a deflection off Maximilian Kilman on its way in. Portsmouth's 9,000 travelling fans helped push the London Stadium crowd to a record for a Carabao Cup first-round tie.
Castellanos levelled just before half-time, turning in a Mohamadou Kanté cut-back in the 42nd minute. Two minutes later, captain Jarrod Bowen edged West Ham in front with a strike from distance that deflected past the goalkeeper. Castellanos completed his brace shortly after the restart, nodding home a Bowen cross in the 49th minute to make it 3-1.
"It is good to start with a win, especially at home with 50,000 fans inside the stadium. We can't thank them enough, it's amazing," head coach Nuno Espirito Santo said after the match. He praised the impact of West Ham's younger players introduced late on: "The energy of the young players is really really important for us. It's up to us to develop the young academy players. That's the vision for the future." Of Bowen, he added: "Jarrod shows us every day his commitment." Portsmouth manager John Mousinho reflected on the game turning after Segecic's opener: "If you give them a slight opening they're going to take it."