West Ham United smashed Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 at the London Stadium on Friday night to climb out of the relegation zone, dragging Tottenham Hotspur into the bottom three in the process as Nuno Espirito Santo watched his side deliver a ruthless second-half surge.
West Ham did not cruise early. Wolves clogged the middle and denied space, forcing the hosts wide and slowing the tempo. That compact shape frustrated West Ham, but it only delayed the damage.
Konstantinos Mavropanos broke the deadlock with a towering header before the break. He attacked the ball with intent and punished hesitant defending. That goal shifted the mood and cracked Wolves’ resistance.
The second half changed everything. Valentin Castellanos took control and ripped through Wolves’ back line twice in quick succession. He drove at defenders, forced errors, and turned a tight game into a rout.
West Ham pressed higher and moved the ball quicker after the interval. They stopped recycling possession and started attacking space. Wolves could not cope with that shift in tempo.
Mavropanos returned to finish the job with a late volley. He capped a dominant display and added a twist, pushing Spurs closer to danger. West Ham did not just win; they made a statement.
Nuno embraced the moment. “All of us deserve this kind of evening, especially our fans. London Stadium today was amazing, bouncing with energy.” He praised the connection between players and crowd, and he got it right. The energy lifted West Ham when they needed it most.
He admitted the early struggle. “The first half was tough. We didn’t find spaces, the game didn’t flow. Then after the break we really improved.” That tactical shift told the story. West Ham increased tempo, stretched Wolves, and took control.
He refused to get carried away. “The way we did it proved to ourselves that we cannot give up. That was the team spirit from the beginning.” He pushed the survival narrative hard, and he knows the job remains unfinished.
He kept his feet on the ground. “We are in the fight. I realise we have a lot of work to do yet. We made a big step today, important for us, but nothing has changed.” That message matters in a relegation scrap. Momentum helps, but consistency decides survival.
For Wolves, the outlook looks bleak. They sit 15 points from safety with six games left, and they look short of belief. Their missed chances early on summed up their season.
For Tottenham, the pressure ramps up. They drop into the bottom three for the first time since 2015 and face a brutal run-in. Seven games now define their future.
