West Ham booked their place in the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 3-1 win over Portsmouth at the London Stadium.
Taty Castellanos scored twice and Jarrod Bowen added another as Nuno Espírito Santo’s side recovered from falling behind to Championship opposition.
The result gives West Ham a winning start to competitive football before their league campaign begins at Burnley next weekend. Here are three things we learnt from the victory.
Bowen and Castellanos could be too good for the Championship
West Ham struggled for large periods of the first half, but their two leading attackers changed the game within minutes.
Castellanos equalised in the 43rd minute after good work from Mohamadou Kanté before Bowen put the Hammers ahead shortly afterwards. The Guardian’s live report confirmed the pair completed the turnaround before half-time.
Bowen then supplied Castellanos for his second five minutes after the restart, with the Argentine glancing his captain’s cross into the net.
That combination could become one of West Ham’s biggest advantages this season.
Both players have proven themselves at Premier League level and should regularly face defenders of a lower standard in the Championship. If West Ham can consistently get them into dangerous positions, they have the quality to decide games even when the overall performance is not convincing.
Bowen has already committed himself to the promotion campaign, while Castellanos continues to show why he can lead the attack.
Mohamadou Kanté is giving Nuno something to think about
Kanté has been given plenty of opportunities during pre-season and the midfielder again started against Portsmouth.
His involvement in Castellanos’ first goal was particularly encouraging, with his work down the left creating the opening from which West Ham finally broke through.
The 20-year-old has not always found things straightforward this summer. ReadWestHam’s analysis of the Rangers draw highlighted the difficulties Kanté faced when pressed in central midfield.
There were signs of progress against Portsmouth.
West Ham still have decisions to make in midfield before the transfer window closes, but Kanté is beginning to show that he can contribute rather than simply provide squad depth.
A 46-game Championship season will require Nuno to use more than his preferred starting XI. Kanté could be playing himself into a meaningful role.
West Ham cannot afford another slow start at Burnley
The final scoreline looked comfortable. The opening 40 minutes were anything but.
Portsmouth took the lead and West Ham struggled to impose themselves before Castellanos sparked the quick turnaround.
That should provide Nuno with the main warning from the afternoon.
West Ham will enter the Championship as promotion favourites, but reputation alone will not be enough. ReadWestHam has already examined how the division can punish teams that fail to adapt quickly, particularly during a demanding 46-game campaign.
Burnley will provide an even tougher test next weekend.
The positive for Nuno is that West Ham responded well after going behind and scored three times in seven minutes of playing time either side of half-time. The concern is that they needed the setback before reaching that level.
Bowen and Castellanos provided the quality to rescue them against Portsmouth.
West Ham will want to make sure they do not need rescuing quite so often once the Championship begins.
