Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Adama Traore scores his side’s first goal against West Ham. (AP Photo)
Big-spending West Ham slumped to its fourth straight defeat to open the English Premier League after conceding an injury-time goal to lose at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 on Saturday. Adama Traore, Wolves’ record signing this offseason, finished off a counterattack in the third minute of stoppage time to earn the promoted team a first top-flight win since 2012 and plunge West Ham into more trouble.
Preseason optimism at West Ham, generated by hiring Premier League-winning manager Manuel Pellegrini and spending more than $100 million on new players, has evaporated with the team making the joint-worst start to a season in its history.
West Ham also opened the 2010-11 season with four straight losses, and went on to be relegated.
Everton held to a 1-1 draw by Huddersfield
Huddersfield collected only its second point of the Premier League season after grinding a way to a 1-1 draw at injury-hit Everton on Saturday. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for Everton 87 seconds after Philip Billing gave Huddersfield the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute at Goodison Park.
Everton found little rhythm without eight first-team members, including record signing Richarlison, and saw in-form winger Theo Walcott limp off early in the second half.
Calvert-Lewin was only playing in the absence of Richarlison and he made an impression in his first start of the season by guiding a near-post header into the net from Lucas Digne’s left-wing cross. That canceled out Huddersfield’s goal from virtually its first chance. Chris Lowe’s corner was flicked inadvertently by Calvert-Lewin into the path of the unmarked Billing, who was left with the simplest of tasks to head beyond goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Everton is still unbeaten after four games under new coach Marco Silva, but has drawn three of them.