West Ham United's Aaron Cresswell celebrates scoring their first goal with Said Benrahma.
On April 3, 2022, West Ham United boosted their bid for European qualification with a 2-1 Premier League win over 10-man Everton at the London Stadium. Defender Aaron Cresswell's brilliant free kick and forward Jarrod Bowen's second-half strike sealed the victory.
Victory saw West Ham climb three spots to fifth with 51 points from 31 games, three points behind fourth-placed London rivals Arsenal having played three games more. Everton, meanwhile, remain in 17th, three points above the drop zone.
Everton's relegation-threatened status was compounded by Alex Iwobi's gift of possession to David Moyes' side in the build-up to Bowen's winning goal. The goal marked a memorable return for Bowen from a right heel injury that had ruled him out of the last four games.
"That's what you want when you have been out. It has been four weeks. The time has been annoying but to come back into the starting eleven and get the three points, I don't think you can ask for more," Bowen told Sky Sports.
Earlier, Cresswell heaped the misery on Everton with a brilliant free kick in the 32nd minute. "It was a great feeling to do that," Cresswell told the BBC. "Delighted with the goal but the main thing is three points. I have a few mates who are Everton fans and they have been giving me stick this week so I might have gone over the top in my celebrations," he added.
Everton were reduced to 10 men for the third straight league match as skipper Michael Keane was shown his second yellow card for a lunging tackle on Michail Antonio. West Ham can now look forward to Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash at home to Olympique Lyonnais, while Everton visit fellow Premier League strugglers Burnley on Wednesday looking for only their second away win of the season.
