Everton had summer signing Neal Maupay to thank for their first Premier League win of the season after his maiden goal for the club was enough to beat West Ham at Goodison Park.
There was little to separate the two struggling sides in terms of possession. It was West Ham who had far more efforts, although quality in front of goal from either team was lacking on the whole.
Maupay struck in the early stages of the second half, beating Lukasz Fabianski at the near post from the edge of the penalty area.
It ended a run of 12 Premier League appearances without a goal for the Frenchman, his longest top flight drought - albeit 11 of those games as a Brighton player, and also continued his record against West Ham – scoring in all three of his league starts against them.
Everton were put under pressure in the second half, with Said Benrahma going closest to equalising for the visitors when his curling shot struck the inside of the post.
But the Toffees hung on to chalk up a much-needed win and rise to as high as 13th in the table. West Ham, meanwhile, stay in the relegation zone, with just Leicester collecting fewer points at this stage of the season and only above newly promoted Nottingham Forest on goal difference.
Source : 90min