Midfielder Declan Rice said West Ham is a “special place to be” as they maintained their unlikely push for a place in next season’s Champions League with a deserved victory over Leeds United.
David Moyes’ side climbed to fifth in the Premier League – two points behind Chelsea, who beat Everton 2-0 earlier on Monday – and have a game in hand on their London rivals.
Jesse Lingard sparked West Ham into life at London Stadium when his menacing run into the penalty area drew a foul from Luke Ayling. Lingard, on loan from Manchester United, converted the rebound after his spot-kick was saved by Illan Meslier.
Leeds had found the net twice in a blistering opening spell, but Tyler Roberts’ finish was ruled out for a marginal offside against Helder Costa, and Raphinha ran the ball out of play before crossing to Patrick Bamford.
But they were two goals down before half-time when the unmarked Craig Dawson headed in Aaron Cresswell’s corner.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds went close to a response five minutes after the restart when Raphinha’s sensational overhead attempt was tipped over by Lukasz Fabianski, while Bamford blazed over from Raphinha’s cut-back and Dawson cleared off the line as Leeds chased a late lifeline.
Pablo Fornals struck the crossbar for the hosts with a dipping second-half shot, but the Hammers ultimately held firm at the back to see out the three points.
“I’m disappointed with the performance,” England international Rice told Sky Sports. “We won but Leeds caused us a problems. Now we are starting to learn how to win ugly.
“This is the best squad I have been a part of. You look forward to training and seeing the lads and that shows on the pitch. We are fighting for each other. It is real special place to be at the moment. The place has a real buzz about it.
“It is hard to say we are going to be [in the] Champions League – there are so many games left. It will be a real tough test, but look where we are now and it is a massive upgrade. It is in our hands. If we want to believe we can be a European team we need to win the big games”.