By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
West Ham finally produced the sort of performance we have been waiting for, beating Wolves 4-2 at the London Stadium in a game full of energy, goals and the occasional defensive heart attack.
Considering the huge pressure Nuno Espírito Santo was under before the game, this was exactly the response he needed.
Divin Mukasa was the star with two goals, Pablo produced comfortably his best performance in a West Ham shirt and Arne Engels impressed alongside Mukasa in a surprisingly inexperienced midfield.
It wasn’t perfect, but after recent performances, this was a massive improvement.
West Ham Player Ratings
Mads Hermansen: 6
Had his first save to make after four minutes but Fer López’s effort was weak enough to gather comfortably. There were some terrifying moments as West Ham repeatedly passed back to him while attempting to beat the Wolves press, but he dealt with them reasonably well.
Ollie Scarles: 6
Definitely better than his last outing. Produced an excellent tackle which started a counter-attack and made a couple of timely blocks. Tried to combine with Manor Solomon and survived one particularly nervous moment in front of his own goal before Hermansen collected.
Max Kilman: 7
A very steady performance. Showed a smart turn of pace to make an important clearance during a race with Rodrigo Gomes and produced a number of telling headers and blocks.
Almost scored from a first-half corner and his neat through ball helped create the penalty. Unlike his central defensive partner, managed to get through the game without too much drama.
Konstantinos Mavropanos: 7
A very difficult one to rate because there was so much good and bad.
Played some horrendous passes and was culpable for both Wolves goals, particularly when Mané turned him inside out for the first.
However, he also produced some outstanding defensive interventions, looked far more motivated than he has done this season and scored West Ham’s fourth with a thumping left-foot half-volley. Almost grabbed another with a header late on.
I’ve had to balance the good against the bad.
Mukasa grabbed two goals
Kyle Walker-Peters: 5
Had his work cut out against the excellent Mané. Won some important tackles against the Wolves youngster but missed a header which allowed him to hit the crossbar. Nuno eventually decided to make the change after 55 minutes.
Arne Engels: 7
Probably his best game in a West Ham shirt. Some of his first touches and passes were played with real pace and purpose.
Produced an excellent early pass down the flank for Solomon and his corner eventually resulted in Mavropanos scoring West Ham’s fourth. An encouraging performance.
Divine Mukasa: 9
Outstanding and surprisingly effective playing in a central midfield containing only himself and Engels.
Produced an unstoppable 25-yard strike for the opener which flew into the top corner via the underside of the bar.
Scored his second shortly after half-time following Bowen’s clever reverse pass, although he benefited from a wicked deflection which looped the ball over José Sá.
After impressing during the 4-1 Carabao Cup victory at Southampton, Mukasa has now given Nuno an even bigger selection problem. Surely a guaranteed starter now.
Two goals and a huge performance from the youngster.
Manor Solomon: 7
Another encouraging display. Combined well with Scarles and produced some good attacking moments, including a smart pass which released Bowen after the break.
Still slightly concerning that even West Ham’s quickest player was being outpaced by some of the Wolves players.
Pablo: 8
Comfortably his best performance in a West Ham shirt for me.
Showed some lovely touches throughout the first half and was heavily involved in the build-up to Mukasa’s opener. Produced a beautiful backheel to send Solomon through and was involved in several of West Ham’s better attacking moves.
This was much more like the player we hoped we had signed.
Pablo was effective and held the ball up well
Jarrod Bowen: 6
Wasn’t having a particularly good game before West Ham took the lead but gradually became more influential.
Coolly converted the penalty to make it 2-0 and produced the clever reverse pass which released Mukasa for the third.
Also forced a good save with a fierce right-footed shot after combining with Castellanos and it was good to see him taking corners again.
Not a bad response after Wolves boss César Peixoto claimed before the game that Fer López was better than the West Ham captain.
Joel Piroe: 6
Worked hard and even joined in with West Ham’s impressive early press. Was caught offside following Bowen’s through ball but did well to shield possession from three Wolves players before being fouled for the penalty.
Replaced after 55 minutes.
Substitutes
Joël Veltman: 6
Replaced Walker-Peters after 55 minutes and Nuno deserves credit for the change because it helped blunt Mané’s threat.
Immediately blocked a cross from the Wolves youngster and later used his body intelligently to shield the ball from him.
Taty Castellanos: 5
Replaced Piroe after 55 minutes. Combined nicely with Bowen for one second-half opportunity but didn’t have a huge influence on proceedings.
Mohamadou Kanté: 5
Produced the usual mixture after coming on: good physicality with a sprinkling of poor touches.
Kieber Lamadrid: 5
Didn’t have a major influence after coming on, although one decent run helped prompt another West Ham attack.
Edvin Austbø: 5
A brief first look at the new Norwegian signing after replacing Solomon.
Showed a glimpse of what he can do with a nice twist, turn and dribble into the penalty area before eventually being dispossessed.
Amanda Staveley was at the game tonight great to see her celebrating west hams goals i hope she gets control of our club it would be great to have an owner who is a football fan.
It’s amazing that when we lose there are 30+ comments on articles on this site. When we put in a good performance, however, not half as much engagement. Maybe some fans revel in misery, or love negativity. Who knows?
Who the hell gives these ratings, whoever it is must have been watching a different game to me.
Who the hell gives these ratings…whoever it is must have been watching a different game to me.
99 times out of a hundred the two Mukasa goals don’t go in. They bounce off a defender or something and we don’t get a penalty so let’s take the luck while it lasts. There would have been calls for Nuno to get the sack but he rode his luck.
Cannot believe your rating of Bowen and Piroe below Pablo. For the short time Austbo was on the pitch, Scarles looked such a better player, that is definitely promising for the future.
Very generous in your marking, Gonzo. I rated Mav’ 5 , Mukasa 7, Felipe 6 (but it was his best game for us), Piroe 4, Solomon 5, Scarles 5, Kilman 6. The rest I agreed with you. A good victory, but not convincing. If this is the best that the 2 favorites can do, I think that we are going to be mildly surprised by which teams actually do get promoted. They may not include West Ham !
A very encouraging win. Three points at home, and possibly a reason to hope for additional good performances ahead. But, there will be no easy Championship games for West Ham.