Eagles swoop to land the points at London Stadium - with Potter under fire

The River Lee Navigation at Hackney Wick (Picture: Charlie Stong)

West Ham United 1 (Bowen 49)

Crystal Palace 2 (Mateta 37, Mitchell 68)

“You’re getting sacked in the morning,” rang around the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon as West Ham fans turned on manager Graham Potter.

The Hammers slipped to their second home defeat in the space of a week - undone this time by a vibrant and organised Crystal Palace side.

The Eagles, roared on by their travelling support, earned the points through goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and a thunderous volley from Tyrick Mitchell – either side of Jarrod Bowen’s equaliser – to continue their strong start to the season.

Palace settled quicker, showing composure on the ball and defensive organisation that left West Ham struggling to impose themselves.

Yet, for all their control, Alphonse Areola remained largely untroubled early on. Yeremy Pino’s knockdown found Daichi Kamada but the midfielder’s effort lacked conviction, while Adam Wharton saw a strike blocked from the edge of the area.

The breakthrough arrived on 37 minutes - and had been coming. Kamada’s corner was met by Marc Guehi, whose header rattled the crossbar. Mateta reacted quickest to nod in the rebound, sparking wild celebrations in the away end and exposing West Ham’s fragility at set pieces. It was the ninth goal they had conceded at the London Stadium in just four games this term.

At the other end, Potter’s side offered precious little early on. Their only moment of promise before the break saw Crysencio Summerville pick out Callum Wilson, but the ball was slightly behind the striker, and Palace’s defence snuffed out the chance. Boos accompanied the home players down the tunnel at half-time.

Palace nearly doubled their advantage moments into the second half when Maxence Lacroix thundered a header against the bar from Wharton’s corner.

But just when the Hammers looked flat, their talisman Jarrod Bowen breathed life into the contest. Meeting a right-wing corner, the forward glanced a deft header into the bottom corner to haul his side level on 49 minutes.

The goal lifted West Ham, and they briefly threatened to turn the tide. Substitute Niklas Fülkrug was inches from heading them in front, only to be denied by Dean Henderson’s alert goalkeeping.

Then, from another Bowen delivery, Lucas Paquetá’s header beat Henderson but was hooked off the line by Chris Richards.

But just as momentum seemed to shift, Palace struck again in spectacular fashion. A hopeful cross from the right was poorly dealt with by Konstantinos Mavropanos, whose header looped into Mitchell’s path. The full-back steadied himself before crashing a sublime volley into the top corner to restore Palace’s lead on 68 minutes.

Mitchell - who had scored only three goals in his career before today - might have added a second soon after, blazing over from a promising position, while substitute Justin Devenny curled narrowly off target, as Palace looked the more likely to extend their advantage.

West Ham, by contrast, ran out of ideas. Their play grew increasingly ragged and the atmosphere toxic as supporters voiced their frustration at both the performance and the direction under Potter.

For Palace, FA Cup holders and now upwardly mobile in the league, these are exciting times. For West Ham, however, the questions are mounting – and so too are doubts over whether Potter will be the man to answer them.