Palace walls close in on Graham Potter as West Ham are beaten at home again
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
Date published: Sat 20 Sep 2025 17.09 BST

Many promises were made when West Ham moved to the London Stadium but at no point did anyone say anything about constructing a team with an unrivalled inability to repel set pieces.

There was, of course, a lot of big talk about how leaving Upton Park would take the club to the next level. Karren Brady, who is facing calls from furious supporters to step down as vice-chair, even kept a straight face when she uttered that line about delivering a "world-class stadium for a world-class team" all those years ago. Who was she kidding? At this rate supporters would simply settle for some defenders who can head the ball away, some midfielders who can run and a manager capable of inspiring a team whose morale is at rock bottom after a dreadful start to the season.

The outlook is grim. West Ham are languishing in 18th place after losing four of their five games, have not won at their unloved home since February and are considering whether to part company with Graham Potter after his side were handed a third successive derby defeat by Crystal Palace.

There was a sense of the walls closing in on Potter as full time approached and supporters chanted for him to go. To concede seven goals in five games from corners is unforgivable. Oliver Glasner said that Palace were intent on winning as many set pieces as possible. The Austrian's diagnosis on West Ham, who were behind when Jean-Philippe Mateta scored from Daichi Kamada's corner shortly before half-time, is that they are probably suffering from a psychological block every time the ball comes into their area.

As for Potter, he looked resigned to his fate. West Ham stirred after half-time, Jarrod Bowen equalising, but they had nothing left in the tank after Tyrick Mitchell's volley restored Palace's lead and extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 17 games.

Glasner, who keeps offering masterclasses in how to make a 3-4-2-1 system work, did not want to talk about Palace pushing for Champions League qualification. Potter, meanwhile, insisted that he still has the support of West Ham's owners. Yet he has made no impact since replacing Julen Lopetegui last January. The writing is on the wall after six wins in 25 games. West Ham, after all, spoke to Nuno Espirito Santo this week and have also thought about an unlikely reunion with Slaven Bilic, eight years after sacking the Croat.

It is important to stress that there is plenty of blame to go around. David Sullivan, West Ham's largest shareholder, is held most culpable for years of dysfunction. It is Sullivan who makes the final call on managers. It will not good look if West Ham are soon looking for their third manager of 2025.

No wonder there were calls for Sullivan and Brady to resign when supporters gathered in large numbers to demonstrate outside the ground before kick-off. This is such a miserable place. The mood was a mixture of apathy and mutiny. The sight of thousands of empty seats in the home sections signalled that many Hammers have had enough of watching this team in this stadium.

There was no energy from West Ham during a first half in which they did not muster a shot. Palace took control, playing through the lines, and it was nervy whenever they had a crossing opportunity. Again the focus turned to West Ham's recruitment. Mads Hermansen has struggled since joining from Leicester for £15m but it was still a big call from Potter to drop his new goalkeeper and bring back Alphonse Areola.

In fairness, West Ham defended the first six corners from Palace pretty well. But when the seventh came in from Kamada after 37 minutes Mateta was free to nod into the empty net after Marc Guehi's deflected header came back off the bar.

The boos at half-time were predictable. Out of nowhere, though, West Ham responded. The tempo was better, the passing sharper, and the leveller arrived when El Hadji Malick Diouf's corner was glanced in by Bowen after 49 minutes.

West Ham poured forward, Lucas Paqueta forcing Chris Richards to make a brilliant goalline clearance. But Palace, who had lost the impressive Yeremy Pino to a knee injury, were more stable. They had almost gone 2-0 up moments before Bowen's goal, Maxence Lacroix heading against the bar.

West Ham were vulnerable. They trailed again when Adam Wharton crossed from the right, Konstantinos Mavropanos failed to head away and Mitchell watched the ball drop before using his weaker right foot to crash a stunning volley past Areola.

The dissent returned. There were howls when Potter withdrew Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville. "You don't know what you're doing," came the chant. It could have been directed at the board as well.

SkySport: Player ratings
West Ham Areola (6), Walker-Peters (7), Mavropanos (6), Kilman (5), Doiuf (6), Ward-Prowse (5), Fernandes (6), Summerville (7), Paqueta (6), Bowen (7), Wilson (5)
Subs: Fullkrug (6), Magassa (6)
Crystal Palace: Henderson (8), Richards (8), Lacroix (8), Guehi (8), Munoz (8), Mitchell (8), Wharton (7), Hughes (7), Pino (7), Kamada (7), Mateta (7)
Subs: Lerma (7), Devenny (6)
Player of the Match: Tyrick MItchell
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