Sat 22 Aug 2026 Championship
West Ham United 1 Charlton Athletic 2
Ben MIller for BBC Sport at the London Stadium

West Ham's Valentin Castellanos missed a 93rd-minute penalty as the Hammers' turbulent start to the Championship season continued with defeat at home by London rivals Charlton Athletic.

Addicks captain Lloyd Jones, who headed the equaliser in Charlton's comeback victory at home to Derby County in their season-opener last Saturday, opened the scoring with an early overhead kick after the hosts allowed Sonny Carey's long throw-in to bounce inside their penalty area.

Seven days after securing Charlton's win over the Rams, Tyreece Campbell was in clinical form again to dispossess the dithering Konstantinos Mavropanos, enter the box and curl in shortly after the break to double the lead in front of a sell-out crowd of 62,500, including more than 3,000 gleeful away fans.

West Ham dominated possession from then on and replied through debutant Joel Piroe's close-range finish, but Castellanos spurned the chance to level deep into added time after Conor Coventry had been adjudged to have handled.

West Ham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo watched his side spurn a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Burnley last week and his irritation after Charlton's opening goal echoed the reaction of the home fans to seeing their side fall behind.

He would have been just as unimpressed to then see Miles Leaburn gifted the ball for a run that ended with the forward sending a fierce shot wide, summing up a first half in which Charlton proved considerably more dangerous than their opponents in the first league edition of this fixture since 2007.

Despite their lack of cutting edge, West Ham could have levelled seconds before the interval when Castellanos had a glorious chance to take his tally to four goals in his past five home league games, only to plant a header straight at Arthur Okonkwo when Ollie Scarles' curling cross found the forward unmarked in front of goal.

Nuno sent on Lewis Orford for Mohamadou Kante in midfield for the second half, which his side began by applying ample pressure before more sloppiness afforded Campbell a chance the Jamaica international took to double Charlton's lead.

Making his Charlton bow following the goalkeeper's loan move from Wrexham, Okonkwo brilliantly tipped Divine Mukasa's drive away as part of an inspired display against an attack featuring new West Ham signing Arne Engels, as well as home debutant Manor Solomon.

Piroe, having seen a goal ruled out after the ball had gone out of play before his finish, pulled one back to give the hosts hope.

The lively Jarrod Bowen created further opportunities and Castellanos skimmed a header narrowly wide as Nuno's players pushed to replicate Burnley's comeback against them at Turf Moor.

Castellanos looked poised to complete the comeback in last-gasp fashion, but his miss ensured the celebrations and relief belonged to Charlton after a gritty, incisive display that ensured they joined Millwall as the only teams to have won both of their first two Championship matches.

Charlton took seven points away to teams relegated to the Championship last season. If a 19th-placed finish last season was respectable following Charlton's promotion, their stellar start to this one suggests Jones and his players are aiming for much more this time.

Jones had spoken during the week about the importance he has placed on character during his recruitment this summer, highlighting the bravery required to weather prolonged tough periods as underdogs in settings such as the London Stadium.

After an end-to-end start, Jones' skipper again showed his eye for goal with a moment of brilliance for the breakthrough, and Charlton were well worthy of their lead on their way to having the first three attempts on goal of the contest.

Campbell's goal raised West Ham's urgency and accuracy from promising positions, finishing on an expected goals total of almost three, with Charlton on just 0.57.

The manner of this defeat will be particularly painful for West Ham fans, although they will perhaps be unsurprised after seeing their team lose six of their preceding eight opening home matches of campaigns.

They have also endured a run of one point from their past nine London derbies in the league, but there might be some solace to be taken from the last time they lost their first home game in the Championship.

On that occasion, against Cardiff City in 2011, they went on to finish third and win promotion through the play-offs, with this the first time they have returned to the second tier since then.

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo: "Our fans were magnificent. We got punished from situations we knew Charlton would create problems from. It became a lot harder but we created a lot of [attacking] situations. We were not accurate enough in the boxes. We have to defend better. The boys tried until the end. We trust Taty [Castellanos] to take the penalties. I don't know [whether he will] for the next game - we have to decide."

Charlton boss Nathan Jones told BBC Radio London: "It's a wonderful win! We were a bit lucky at the end, but let's not dwell on that because we earned our luck. For a large majority of the game, we were comfortable. It's the toughest place to come in the Championship, it really is. They have the best, biggest and most lucrative squad, with 60-odd thousand here. Our fans were magnificent, so it's a wonderful away day. You'd have taken any result here, and that's not me being pessimistic. To win here, away from home, in the second game after [West Ham] coming down from the Premier League - it's a wonderful win."

Player of the match 7 T. Campbell 8.45
West Ham United J. Piroe (74')
Charlton Athletic L. Jones (7' assist S.Carey) T. Campbell (56')
Venue: London Stadium Attendance: 62,264
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