It was just as West Ham imagined it when they spent more than £100m last summer. Lucas Paquetá up front, two left-backs on the pitch at the end and the latest man to sit in the home dugout at the London Stadium wondering if his new employers are always this baffling.
This was a game that West Ham did their best not to win, so much so that they even let in two crosses from Alex Iwobi. Still, though, Graham Potter found logic in the puzzle.
The West Ham manager came into his first Premier League game in charge short of forwards and nonetheless found a way to win after punishing a series of dreadful mistakes from Fulham with goals from Carlos Soler, Tomas Soucek and Paquetá.
Potter’s attacking options were limited by Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville joining Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen on the injury list. He responded by thinking outside the box, naming a team without a recognised striker and using Lucas Paquetá as a false nine, and it took West Ham a while to adjust.
There was little energy, which was perhaps to be expected from a team so short of pace in almost every position, and Fulham accepted the invitation to squeeze the pitch. West Ham, who are considering a loan move for the RB Leipzig forward André Silva, were lucky to escape when Harry Wilson volleyed against the bar in the sixth minute.
That was the start of a frustrating spell for Fulham. If anything it seemed too easy for them. It was as if they were simply waiting for the goal to come, but that it is always a dangerous game to play.
So it proved when Fulham’s intensity dipped after 20 minutes of dominance and the mood began to change, greater dynamism from West Ham belatedly giving the home fans something to believe in.
A touch more desire made a huge difference. Faced with a slightly more urgent press, Andreas Pereira was drawn into playing a blind pass across his own area in the 31st minute. None of his teammates expected it and, with Bernd Leno out of his goal, Soler ran in from the left to punish Pereira’s carelessness by driving the loose ball into the empty net.
It was 2-0 before Fulham had a chance to compose themselves. Two minutes later Paquetá, sort of embracing his target man role, made a nuisance of himself as he challenged Joachim Andersen in the air. Fulham’s shape had disappeared. Kudus took over, dribbling in from the right, and the best move of the half developed. Found by Kudus, Soler stopped, looked up and sent a clever chip to Wan-Bissaka, who pulled the ball for Soucek to beat Leno with a rising finish.
Potter offered some restrained applause. Suddenly a double pivot of Edson Álvarez and Guido Rodríguez looked quite smart. Soucek, playing as a No 10, had come up with one of his trademark goalscoring runs. Fulham’s response was limited to Raul Jiménez heading against the woodwork just before half-time.
Marco Silva must have torn into his players during the break. Fulham stirred at the start of the second half and had hope when Antonee Robinson dispossessed Kudus in the 51st minute.
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The left-back combined with Iwobi, whose teasing delivery caused confusion in the West Ham defence. Jiménez, seizing on the indecision, hung out a leg and did enough without getting a touch to ensure the cross went beyond a distracted Lukasz Fabianski
Now the nerves set in. Fulham pushed for an equaliser, forcing West Ham back. Potter responded with a change, Danny Ings coming on up front for an unimpressed Kudus, who smacked his seat as he took his place on the bench.
It was an inspired move – so good, in fact, that it immediately made Fulham revert to calamity mode, Silva watching in disbelief as Leno dawdled in possession, lost the ball to Ings and left Paquetá with another open goal.
That should have been enough, only for Fulham to score again when another Iwobi cross floated beyond Fabianski. West Ham were not going to do it the easy way. Fabianski soon foiled Jiménez.
Six minutes were added on. Wan‑Bissaka cleared off the line. Sasa Lukic and Adama Traoré missed glaring chances. Somehow West Ham held on.
