West Ham United picked up a huge three points in their battle against relegation on Saturday afternoon as they defeated Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage.
What happened in Fulham vs West Ham?
David Moyes opted to make a number of changes from the side that were thrashed in midweek, with Danny Ings, Pablo Fornals, Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna all returning to the side in an unfamiliar 4-4-2 formation.
West Ham started well and took the lead in fortunate circumstances as Jarrod Bowen picked the ball up in the penalty box and breezed past Tim Ream, with his cross turned into his own net by Harrison Reed.
The Hammers wouldn't create too many opportunities thereafter but limited their hosts to very little, with Lukasz Fabianski redeeming himself after Wednesday's horror show by denying Andreas Pereira when he was through on goal late on.
Moyes' side should have made the points safe when Maxwel Cornet found himself with time and space in on Fulham's goal, but he shot straight at Bernd Leno when under no pressure, with Said Benrahma waiting for a square pass.
However, one goal would be enough for West Ham and they move up to 13th position in the Premier League table to ease the pressure on Moyes ahead of the final eight games.
Who was West Ham's star performer against Fulham?
It was far from convincing once again from West Ham, but they were able to hold on to the win thanks to a big defensive effort, with Fabianski earning a rare away clean sheet.
As per Sofascore, the returning Ogbonna would earn a superb 7.8/10 rating for his performance at Craven Cottage, which saw him ranked as the joint-best performer from both sides alongside his central-defensive partner, Kurt Zouma.
During the 90 minutes, the experienced defender would contribute a phenomenal 12 clearances, two blocks, three interceptions and one tackle, compared to his average of 4.2 clearances, 0.3 blocks, 1.1 interceptions and one tackle per game in the Premier League so far this campaign – emphasising just how impressive he was.
To add to this, the former Juventus man would also win 100% of his duels and lose possession on just three occasions in what was a superb all-round display, as while West Ham wouldn't see much of the ball, Ogbonna did exactly what was required of him and was suitably described as "superb" by The Athletic's Roshane Thomas following the game.
It was a bold decision by Moyes to drop Nayef Aguerd for the veteran defender in such an important fixture, but the Scottish manager arguably proved that he does know what he is doing – contrary to fans' opinions – after his side's vital win.