West Ham United secured an impressive victory on Saturday afternoon against Sunderland. The Black Cats had a complete off day in London.
Promoted side Sunderland has been praised several times this season for its strong performances in the Premier League and has looked every bit like a team that belongs in the top half of the table.
At the London Stadium, however, the visitors delivered a first half that unraveled quickly and kept getting worse, allowing West Ham to take control of the match early and never truly let it go. By the time the final whistle arrived, the damage had already been done long before the late push from Sunderland, with West Ham ultimately sealing a 3 to 1 win.
The warning signs were there from the opening minutes. West Ham pressed with purpose, moved the ball forward faster than Sunderland could settle, and repeatedly found space on the flanks. Sunderland tried to play through the pressure, but their passing rhythm was off and their defensive distances were not right. That combination gave West Ham confidence, and once the first goal arrived the match began to tilt heavily in the home side’s favor.
After 15 minutes, Crysencio Summerville set the tone in the most direct way possible. A sharp delivery into the box was met by Summerville, who powered a header into the net. It was his second Premier League goal of the season, following his first last week against Tottenham Hotspur, and it immediately lifted the stadium while forcing Sunderland into a reaction they were not ready to produce.
Sunderland did attempt to respond. With Brobbey and goalkeeper Robin Roefs starting, the Black Cats tried to regain a foothold through steadier possession and more aggressive positioning in midfield. The problem was that West Ham never looked uncomfortable. They stayed compact without the ball, waited for loose touches, and whenever Sunderland overcommitted they looked dangerous in transition. Sunderland’s recovery was brief, and they were soon hit by the second goal.
The 2 to 0 arrived from the penalty spot after a moment that summed up Sunderland’s afternoon. Trai Hume made an unfortunate challenge inside the area, leaving Jarrod Bowen with the opportunity from 11 meters. Bowen took responsibility and converted, doubling West Ham’s lead and putting Sunderland in a position where the rest of the half threatened to become damage limitation rather than a platform for a comeback.
Instead, it got worse before the break. In the 44th minute, Mateus Fernandes produced the moment of the match from a Sunderland perspective, and not in a good way. He struck a superb shot into the top corner, giving Roefs no chance and making it 3 to 0. It was a goal that combined quality with the kind of freedom Sunderland could not afford to give away, and it ensured West Ham United walked into halftime with total control.
While the scoreline suggested Sunderland needed their main striker to drag them back into contention, Brobbey spent much of the first half fighting for scraps. The former Ajax forward, who had scored 4 Premier League goals before kickoff, worked relentlessly, pressed defenders, and tried to offer an outlet, but service was minimal and West Ham’s center backs rarely allowed him a clean duel in dangerous areas. He was involved, he was active, but he was largely neutralized.
At halftime, Sunderland’s manager tried to change the story quickly. The visitors came out with 3 substitutions and a noticeably higher tempo, attempting to reset the game with fresh legs and more intensity. For spells, Sunderland had more of the ball and looked calmer in their build up, but control did not translate into genuine threat. They circulated possession, pushed full backs higher, and tried to find Brobbey earlier, yet West Ham’s structure remained disciplined and their defensive work was efficient.
West Ham, for their part, looked comfortable with the new pattern. They did not need to chase the game and were happy to wait for moments to break. Summerville remained a constant outlet, and Taty Castellanos added movement that kept Sunderland’s back line cautious. In that context, Roefs had to stay alert and he did, preventing a fourth goal on more than one occasion. Just as in the first half, he made several saves that stopped the scoreline from turning into something far heavier.
Sunderland eventually did find a way to make the match look more respectable, and it came through the player they needed most. Brobbey scored his fifth league goal of the season, heading in to pull one back. The goal offered a brief spark of belief, because a single strike can sometimes change the emotional temperature of a stadium and the decision making of the team in front.
But even with that lifeline, a true turnaround never felt likely. West Ham continued to manage the key moments, slowed the game when necessary, and avoided giving Sunderland the kind of clear chances that would have made the final stages chaotic. After Brobbey’s goal, neither side created many truly big opportunities. Sunderland could not generate sustained pressure inside the penalty area, and West Ham always looked capable of finding space on the counter if the visitors took too many risks.
For West Ham, the result matters beyond just the three points. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo had been under serious pressure after the defeat to his former club Nottingham Forest, with the speculation around his position growing louder. This latest win strengthens his position and adds to a run of positive results since that setback. West Ham followed the Forest loss by beating Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup, then Tottenham, and now Sunderland, a sequence that restores confidence and provides breathing room at a crucial point in the season.
Sunderland will take lessons from this one. Their second half showed more structure, more urgency, and a clearer idea of how they want to compete in difficult away matches, but the first half was too poor to survive against a Premier League side that punishes mistakes. If they want to stay comfortably in the top half, they will need to cut out these collapses, because matches like this are decided quickly, and once a team like West Ham gets a lead and rhythm, it becomes extremely hard to pull them back.
Updated: 04:45, 24 Jan 2026
