Bowen strikes again as Luton lose first home game

Jarrod Bowen continued his fine start to the season to help West Ham to a victory at Luton that puts them top of the Premier League.

Luton, despite being without the ball for long periods, posed a threat on the counter and carved out eight chances in the opening half of the first Premier League game at Kenilworth Road in their history.

However, they failed to register an effort on target as Ross Barkley fired wide on two occasions and Carlton Morris – who has scored Luton’s only goal in the Premier League this season – headed on to the roof of the net.

Elijah Adebayo and Morris had good chances in the second period but the former got the ball caught under his feet and the latter blazed over from seven yards.

Kurt Zouma scored West Ham’s second in the closing stages with a header from a James Ward-Prowse corner.

Luton’s first shot on target came in the 92nd minute and set up a tense finish when defender Mads Andersen headed in, but the Hammers held on for victory.

West Ham have won their last three games to reach the Premier League summit while Luton, playing at home for the first time this season after delays over work at their stadium, are rock bottom without a point to show from their opening three matches.

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Paqueta puts on a show

It was only a couple of weeks ago that Paqueta was linked with a move to Premier League champions Manchester City and, on the basis of tonight’s performance, it’s easy to see why Pep Guardiola was interested in the Brazil midfielder.

He was key in helping West Ham take control of the game after Luton, as expected, came out of the blocks with intent in front of their home fans for the first time this season.

Paqueta exuded calmness in the middle third and his vision to deliver the ball for West Ham’s opener was exemplary – placing it on a plate for Bowen to nod in.

The former Lyon midfielder made 77 passes in the game – more than any other player – and also topped the charts for passes in the final third (36).

West Ham boss David Moyes told Sky Sports: “Lucas Paqueta is getting better all the time. He’s got brilliant ability and we needed him today.

“It’s not easy to come here and we were under loads of pressure. Thankfully we stood up to it, got a couple of goals and played pretty well ourselves.”

England forward Bowen was given a huge hand by goalkeeper Kaminski to open the scoring as he took his tally for the season to three goals.

He didn’t score a single goal away from home last season but each of his three strikes this campaign have come on the road.

New signing Mohammed Kudus also got his first taste of Premier League football as a late substitute following a £38m switch from Ajax.

Lack of firepower proves costly for Hatters

Luton’s promotion from the Championship last season was built largely on a solid defence, with only champions Burnley conceding fewer than the Hatters’ tally of 39.

Keeping clean sheets is going to be much tougher in the top flight and they’ve now conceded nine in three fixtures, putting greater pressure on the attacking players to deliver at the other end.

Going forward, Rob Edwards’ side weren’t prolific in 2022-23, scoring just 57 times – the lowest of any club to finish in the top six.

Scoring goals could prove to be a major issue for them again this term if the amount of chances spurned in their opening three games is anything to go by.

They out-shot West Ham 16-9 at a packed Kenilworth Road but only found the target once, albeit finding a way through via Andersen’s head.

Luton manager Edwards, speaking to BBC Match of the Day, said: “I’ve seen loads of good things and tonight I have seen more again but we have got to be more clinical. That has to be me taking responsibility finding that way and also keeping the back door shut as well.

“We are more than capable of performing well and getting results in this league. We are playing a team that won a European trophy and they are on a high at the moment.”

While Luton were busy on the field there was also plenty taking place off it with a 12th signing of the summer arriving in the shape of Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, on a season-long loan.