NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — Newcastle’s winning streak in the English Premier League came to an abrupt end when goals from Thomas Souček and Aaron Wan-Bissaka gave West Ham an unexpected 2-0 win at St. .James’ Park.
The Hammers moved up to 14th place and their coach Julen Lopetegui breathed some relief amid questions about his continuity.
Intermittency has marked the London club throughout the season. Monday’s victory was only their fourth in 12 league games.
West Ham deserved the victory, but bagging the three points was aided by the indifference of the home team’s defense. Newcastle’s defense fell asleep when Souček stepped up to head in an Emerson corner kick that opened the scoring.
Then, in the 53rd minute, captain Jarrod Bowen set up Wan-Bissaka inside the penalty area and he, unopposed and with all the time in the world, finished at will to beat goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Newcastle brought in Harvey Barnes and Callum Wilson, after a prolonged absence due to a back injury, played his first game of the campaign. But it was in vain.
The defeat ended Newcastle’s three-game winning streak. The Saudi-owned club sits ninth, four points off the top four.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
