Sat 24 Oct 2026 Championship
West Ham United 2 Southampton 3
By Dan George BBC Sport at the London Stadium

James Bree scored a stunning goal as Southampton impressively beat West Ham United at the London Stadium. Saints fired themselves in front after just two minutes when Kuryu Matsuki slotted the ball into the far corner before Bree struck from a tight angle. Kyle Walker-Peters placed a finish into the top corner to get the Hammers back into the game but the visitors scored again before the break when Lewis Dobbin found the net from close range. Tomas Soucek came off the bench to score in injury time, but despite late chances the hosts were unable to draw level. The result pushed Tonda Eckert's side up to sixth in the Championship table, two points behind third-placed West Ham, who are a point off the automatic promotion spots.

The visiting Saints stunned the West Ham supporters into silence after a fast start in east London. Leo Scienza broke into the area and fired a shot straight at Mads Hermansen which then fell to Matsuki who was able to stroke the ball into the bottom left-hand corner. Saints then doubled their lead when Caspar Jander's cross was tipped to the other side of the West Ham box by Hermansen. The clearance flew only as far as Bree who allowed the ball to bounce before brilliantly rifling his finish into the top corner of the net from a tight angle. West Ham sprung into life in the 24th minute when Walker-Peters showed some neat footwork before sending a brilliant strike into the top left-hand corner of the net. But Eckert's side then scored again when they broke up the other end and Scienza had another effort saved from close range. On this occasion Dobbin was on hand to poke the ball home from a matter of feet, running off to celebrate in front of a shocked London Stadium. Saints came close to a fourth in the second half when Finn Azaz played a delightful pass to Dobbin whose low shot struck the outside of the right-hand post. After an hour of play Max Kilman came so close to getting his side back into the game, walloping a strike from the edge of the box towards the top corner. But his effort hit the woodwork before bouncing onto the diving Daniel Peretz and behind for a corner. Substitute Soucek made an impact late on when his injury time strike found the bottom right-hand corner in added time but ultimately it was not enough for the hosts with loud boos heard at the full-time whistle.

West Ham remain one point off the automatic promotion places. Despite being so far behind at the break, West Ham ultimately ended up losing by a solitary goal and if not for some last-ditch saves by Peretz late-on, the hosts could have left Saturday's game with at least a point. Supporters grew anxious through the game with boos at both the half-time and the full-time whistle. Nuno cut a frustrated figure in his press conference after the match, quick to leave after less than two minutes of questions.

Southampton are sixth in the Championship after 12 games Southampton were rewarded for their fast start in the capital when they found themselves two goals up after just 11 minutes. They imposed themselves on the Hammers from the kick-off, dominating the ball and trying to find an early breakthrough. This tactic appeared to catch West Ham off guard as a stunned London Stadium watched Bree slam his impressive effort into the net early on to double the lead. Espirito Santo's side pushed Saints late on but Peretz made a number of crucial saves to keep his side ahead. The 26-year-old stopped a piledriver from Konstantinos Mavropanos and a glancing Castellanos header where he put his body on the line to keep it out. Having started the season on minus four points, Saints would be second now if it was not for the deduction handed to them. Even without two of their best players in midfielder Flynn Downes and top scorer Cyle Larin today they found a way to win and still looked good while doing it.

Nuno Espirito Santo speaking to BBC Radio London. "It was a very frustrating day for us with the way that we started and conceded so early. The reaction after [going behind] was good and we went for it and created lots of situations and scored. But the second goal changed the dynamic of the game, the boys did everything that they can but credit to Southampton. We have to go again and it's a quick turnaround to West Brom."

Tonda Eckert told BBC Radio Solent. "It's not an easy place to come to and West Ham are a really good team so it was important to start strong. We suffered in the second half and defended well and we had a good goalkeeper today which is something you need sometimes, but overall it was a proper team performance. We took a decision at the start of the season to go into this campaign with a very small squad and that always means that injuries might hurt you at some moments. But there is the chance for players to step up and everyone knows that the times comes sooner or later, it will remain important if we are to play for something big this season."

Player of the match 1 D. Peretz average rating 9.02
Half Time West Ham United 1 Southampton 3
West Ham United K. Walker-Peters (24') Goal, T. Soucek (90'+3) Goal Assists D. Mukasa (24'), V. Castellanos (90'+3)
Southampton K. Matsuki (2') Goal, J. Bree (11') Goal, L. Dobbin (34')
Venue:London Stadium
Attendance:62,250
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