Conor Gallagher at the double as Crystal Palace fight back to thwart West Ham
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
Date publised: Sat 28 Aug 2021 17.16 BST

The reality check did not take long to arrive, leaving West Ham with much to ponder. This was a frayed, leggy performance from David Moyes's side and although they remain top of the Premier League after this uneven draw with Crystal Palace, it is hard not to feel that they need further signings before the transfer window shuts on Tuesday.

West Ham should not feel that their business is complete following the arrival of Kurt Zouma, even though the France centre-back will surely improve an increasingly leaky defence after sealing his £29.8m move from Chelsea.

Their squad remains light in other areas. The squad remains light in other areas and the need to bring in another striker to support Michail Antonio is not lost on Moyes, who was hesitant to use his bench here, waiting until the dying stages before bringing on Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini.

"If we had another centre-forward we might have tried to change it," he said. "But we don't. Could we do with extra numbers? Yes."

The same applies to Palace, who hope to bolster their attack by signing Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal, but there is no doubt that Patrick Vieira was the happier manager. Palace were impressive after a lacklustre first half, their revival given substance by Conor Gallagher's brio in midfield.

Gallagher was outstanding, scoring his first goals after joining on loan from Chelsea, and West Ham could have no complaints about their winning start coming to an end.

Palace, who had not scored in the league before this game, were the better team in the second half but evidence of a stylistic change had been in short supply at first. They were disappointing, their ambition limited to sporadic counterattacks and their approach too meek.

Wilfried Zaha was isolated on the right and there were some worrying moments for the visitors when they tried to play out from the back, with Marc Guéhi's wayward distribution making it too simple for West Ham to win back possession.

Sloppiness on the ball was a problem for Palace. West Ham, unchanged for the third successive game, had more clarity. They increased the tempo as the half wore on, Pablo Fornals influential, and it was no surprise when they broke the deadlock in the 39rd minute.

Saïd Benrahma began the move by releasing Antonio, who surged away from Joel Ward before checking back and assessing his options. Support arrived and the striker kept his cool, a double exchange of passes with Fornals leaving Palace flummoxed.

The assist went to Antonio, who unselfishly played the ball back to Fornals to stroke into an empty net, and at that stage it seemed that West Ham would stroll to victory.

Moyes, who felt that a bobbly pitch did his side no favours, did not look satisfied on the touchline. The manager tore into Benrahma for losing possession shortly after the goal and there was more concern for the hosts at the start of the second half.

The mood had shifted, Palace were playing with more intent, while Craig Dawson was jittery at the back for West Ham. The passing was bolder from the visitors and the equaliser arrived, Zaha's cross headed down by Christian Benteke to Gallagher, who screwed a low finish past Lukasz Fabianski.

No wonder West Ham have signed Zouma. It was a soft goal to concede and they continued to struggle despite soon restoring their lead through Antonio, who finished emphatically after capitalising on Joachim Andersen's inability to deal with a straightforward long ball. To their credit, Palace did not crumble after Antonio's fourth goal of the season. They attacked straight away, Zaha toying with West Ham on the left.

James McArthur crossed and Gallagher, enjoying the freedom to burst into the box, collected the ball before producing a moment of individual brilliance, bamboozling Dawson with a smart turn and beating Fabianski with a firm shot.

"He's got the ability to remain calm in the box," Vieira said. "He's got a lot of energy and when he's in this situation he will score goals."

Palace, meanwhile, are still waiting for their first win in the Premier League under their new manager this season, had reason to feel optimistic. They had made West Ham look rather ordinary.

Daily Mail: MATCH FACTS
West Ham: Fabianski 6, Coufal 7, Dawson 6, Ogbonna 6.5, Cresswell 7.5; Rice 6.5, Soucek 6.5; Bowen 7 (Lanzini 79), Fornals 7.5 (Yarmolenko 87), Benrahma 7.5; Antonio 7.5.
Subs not used: Areola, Noble, Diop, Fredericks, Johnson, Coventry, Baptiste.
Scorer: Fornals 39, Antonio 68
Booked: Rice
Manager: David Moyes 7
Crystal Palace: Guaita 6; Ward 6, Guehi 6.5, Andersen 7, Mitchell 7; Gallagher 8, Kouyate 6.5, McArthur 7 (Schlupp 88); Zaha 6.5, Benteke 6.5, Ayew 6.5.
Subs not used: Butland, Tomkins, Mateta, Kelly, Hannam, Riedewald, Street, Rak-Sakyi.
Scorer: Gallagher 58, 70
Manager: Patrick Vieira 7
Referee: Stuart Attwell 7
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