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| West Ham United's Nayef Aguerd celebrates scoring his side's first goal with Kurt Zouma during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Southampton FC at London Stadium on April 2, 2023 in London, United Kingdom. |
West Ham gained a crucial win over Southampton in the Premier League’s congested relegation scrap to lift themselves out of the bottom three and leave their opponents at the foot of the table.
Nayef Aguerd guided home an precise first-half header from Thilo Kehrer’s free-kick, although the goal was only awarded after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
Until deep into the second half, when Gavin Bazunu turned away Said Benrahma’s goalbound free-kick, it was the Hammers’ only effort on target.
However, for large parts, Southampton were ineffective.
Lukasz Fabianski did make a couple of routine saves to deny Romeo Lavia and Carlos Alcaraz but the nearest they came was in the final minutes when £18m forward Paul Onuachu, who is still to score since joining the club from Genk in January, headed against the bar.
Victory lifted West Ham to 14th. Ruben Selles, meanwhile, faces a difficult week, knowing six of the other eight teams in the relegation fight play at least once – and many twice – before his Southampton side play again.
