West Ham picked up where they left off last season after a superb second-half performance saw them beat Newcastle 4-2 in their Premier League opener.
It was an entertaining match throughout, but West Ham were in devastating form after the break.
They scored three goals in a 13-minute blitz that Newcastle were unable to recover from, with Steve Bruce’s side having no shots on target in the second half.
However, with a packed St James’ Park behind them for the first time since February 2020, it was the Magpies who took an early lead.
Callum Wilson (5) marked his first game in the famous Newcastle No 9 shirt with a fine goal, nodding home inside five minutes.
It did not take long for West Ham to level though, as Aaron Cresswell’s goal (18) – which was initially ruled out for offside – was correctly awarded after a VAR review.
Newcastle then re-took the lead just before half-time as Jacob Murphy (41) scored his first goal at St James’ Park.
Said Benrahma (53) nodded West Ham ahead shortly after the break, before Tomas Soucek (63) slotted home after Michail Antonio’s penalty was saved by Freddie Woodman.
But Antonio – another player assigned a famous No 9 shirt over the summer – nabbed his goal after a wonderful counter-attack (66).
It was his 47th Premier League goal for West Ham, going level with current leader Paolo Di Canio.
The Hammers have now scored 3+ goals in their last three Premier League outings either side of the summer break and won their opening Premier League game for the first time since 2015.
As for Newcastle, they were unable to follow up their two end-of-season victories with another.
How West Ham’s second half blitz saw off Newcastle
The fast start from both sides at St James’ Park set the tone for the game. An early corner saw Miguel Almiron head a Soucek effort off the line, but mere minutes later, Newcastle were ahead.
Allan Saint-Maximin held the ball up wonderfully down the right, using all the tricks in his toolbox to bamboozle Declan Rice. He then lifted a cross into the middle and Wilson was waiting, having found an inch of space ahead of Craig Dawson and Vladimir Coufal, and nodded home from close range.
