Former Hammer of the year, now Burnley boss, Scott Parker needed a huge gift from his former employers here, with rumours swirling that defeat here would spell the end of his Turf Moor reign.
West Ham were in no mood to dish out any sympathy to their former midfielder, taking an early lead when they extended their league-best scoring record inside the opening 15 minutes, netting their ninth of the campaign when Mateus Fernandes’ threaded ball found Crysencio Summerville, who made no mistake in dinking over the on-rushing Martin Dúbravka.
Boos rang out inside Turf Moor, and the disgruntled Clarets faithful were soon voicing their discontent once more when El Hadji Malick Diouf marauded down the left and planted a perfect cross onto the head of Valentín Castellanos, who found the bottom corner for his first Premier League goal.
Burnley’s attacking offerings were few and far between, but their shining light this season, Marcus Edwards, did nearly find a moment of magic when he curled a left-footed effort narrowly wide of the far post.
Parker must’ve put a rocket up his side at half-time because they came out after the break reinvigorated and started to actually threaten the West Ham goal.
Zian Flemming came closest to anyone as his near-post header forced a smart save out of Mads Hermansen, while Edwards continued to probe by hammering in two blocked shots.
A desperate Parker made a treble change 25 minutes from time, but his decision to simply change his entire front three was puzzling to everyone inside Turf Moor, considering his side were desperate for a goal.
Those changes didn’t particularly have any impact on how Burnley played, as they continued to look devoid of ideas in front of goal.
West Ham simply toyed with the hosts in the closing stages, knowing the game was already won, and it proved to be the perfect weekend for them, as Nottingham Forest’s defeat on Friday night meant they closed the gap to safety to three points.
Burnley remain 11 points adrift, and even a seemingly impending managerial change might not be enough to save their skin this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mateus Fernandes (West Ham)
