West Ham thrash Wolves to move out of the relegation zone

At a glance

  • Mavropanos opens scoring with thumping header late in first half

  • Castellanos nets quick‑fire second‑half double to put hosts in command

  • Mavropanos volleys home his second and West Ham's fourth late on

  • West Ham out of relegation zone, Tottenham drop in; Wolves stay bottom

  • PLAYER RATER

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

Taty Castellanos and Konstantinos Mavropanos both scored twice as West Ham thrashed Wolves to move out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Argentina forward Castellanos - signed from Italian side Lazio in January - doubled his league tally for the Hammers with two goals in as many second-half minutes, adding to a first-half header from Mavropanos.

The Greece defender then scored his third goal in as many games with an acrobatic effort seven minutes from time to seal a crucial victory for Nuno Espirito Santo's side at London Stadium.

The victory means the Hammers leapfrog Tottenham into 17th place, while Wolves remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

Wolves, fresh from a 25-day break from action, made a fast start and could have been ahead inside two minutes had Kyle Walker-Peters not intercepted Jean-Ricner Bellegarde's driven cross.

It took West Ham almost a quarter of an hour to carve out an opening, with Crysencio Summerville blazing over from inside the area after a defence-splitting pass from Mateus Fernandes.

In a half severely lacking in chances, Jarrod Bowen then spurned a glorious opportunity to put the Hammers ahead, unable to steer his volley past Jose Sa after Wolves failed to clear their lines.

The visitors responded by almost taking the lead through an Adam Armstrong header, while Bowen had another effort blocked at the other end following a knockdown from Mavropanos.

But the pair swapped roles a couple of minutes later, with Mavropanos' thumping header from Bowen's cross powering the hosts in front just before the break.

After a tame first half, the game burst into life after the break, with both sides hitting the woodwork - Wolves through Angel Gomes and West Ham through Bowen.

Castellanos doubled his side's lead in the 66th minute after a clever assist from fellow January signing Pablo, before adding his second just two minutes later by arrowing the ball past Sa after another pass from Bowen.

Mavropanos then added gloss to the scoreline with a late volley from a corner.

West Ham analysis: Hammers will now truly believe they can stay up

'It will be smiles' - Nuno on moving out of relegation zone

Only five days ago, West Ham supporters could not wait to leave London Stadium as their side fell 2-0 behind to Leeds United in an FA Cup quarter‑final.

But it was a very different story on Friday, with the home faithful staying until the final whistle to savour every moment of a win that could prove monumental in the battle for survival.

This was a night when everything that needed to go West Ham's way did - and will give them an injection of belief they can retain their top‑flight status.

A double from big‑money January signing Castellanos helped extend their unbeaten run at home to five matches, adding to the sense everything is falling into place at the perfect time for the Hammers.

Bowen's return to form at the business end of the campaign continues, with his two assists against Wolves taking him to nine goal involvements in his past 10 games.

It marks a remarkable turnaround from where West Ham found themselves earlier in 2026 - out of sorts, struggling for identity and seemingly destined for a return to the Championship, 14 years after winning promotion via the play‑offs.

But with this victory lifting them out of the drop zone - at least until Sunday, when Tottenham visit Sunderland - West Ham fans may start to feel optimistic about the final six weeks of the season.

Wolves analysis: Last hope of great escape bid finally extinguished?

'They punished our mistakes' - Edwards on defeat

For Wolves, on the other hand, this felt like the night any lingering hope of pulling off one of the greatest escapes in top-flight history was all but extinguished - with a return to the Championship now surely a matter of when, not if.

The visitors started brightly and it could have been a very different story - and scoreline - had the likes of Armstrong and Hugo Bueno found the back of the net after an evenly matched opening 42 minutes.

But once West Ham found the opener - perhaps against the run of play - there was only ever going to be one winner.

What will please Rob Edwards, however, is that his side - who have spent much of the campaign propping up the table - did not perform like a team with just 17 points from 31 games.

It has been a season to forget for Wolves, but Edwards will take pride in the fighting spirit his side - discussed as one of the worst in Premier League history as recently as December - have shown over the past three months, even as relegation loomed large throughout.

Player of the match

K. Mavropanos
8.99
15 K. Mavropanos
8.99
11 V. Castellanos
8.48
20 J. Bowen
8.11
1 M. Hermansen
7.45
19 Pablo
7.38
4 A. Disasi
7.37
2 K. Walker-Peters
7.37
18 Mateus Fernandes
7.34
28 T. Souček
7.21
7 C. Summerville
7.11
12 E. Diouf
6.97
32 F. Potts
6.43
27 S. Magassa
6.31
17 Adama Traoré
6.26
9 C. Wilson
6.22
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