West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen is relishing their hectic schedule and urged his team-mates to make the most of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Liverpool.
The Hammers’ made it seven wins in nine matches with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Wolves on Sunday after Bowen struck late on following a first-half brace by Mohammed Kudus.
David Moyes’ side are in the middle of a three-week period where they play seven times and next up is a midweek trip to Anfield with a semi-final berth on the line.
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“It’s an exciting time. As a player, you want to be in as many competitions as possible,” top-goalscorer Bowen said.
“We’ve got a chance now on Wednesday night to get a place in the Carabao Cup semi-final and then we play Manchester United on Saturday too.
“That will be another tasty game and there’s a lot to look forward to. We’re glad we got the win. It moves us up the table and it makes things interesting over the Christmas period.”
West Ham moved up to eighth after Sunday’s result, which was inspired by their versatile attacking trio.
Lucas Paqueta created each goal against Wolves, finding Kudus for his 25-yard opener midway through the first half before he played in the summer recruit for his second in the 32nd minute.
Bowen rounded off the scoring after he collected Paqueta’s pass and it left boss David Moyes’ purring about his Brazilian playmaker.
Moyes added: “That is what Lucas Paqueta can do for us. I’m pulling my hair out half the time and the other part of it I’m celebrating because he can make passes that other people can’t see and don’t make.
“He’s a special player. I’ve not had huge amounts of special players with that individual talent. So, there’s a little bit of leeway we have to give him.
“I’m not someone who likes giving too much leeway to any of my players. I like to treat them all fairly but as I’ve got a bit older, I’ve realised that when you have that talent, you have to let them flourish.
“But I have to say as well, his work-rate for the team over recent months has been excellent.”
Bowen concluded: “We’re just playing with freedom and we have a real understanding me, Mo (Kudus) and Lucas.
“There were times when Mo was up front and I was out on the wing. Then times I was up front and Mo on the wing.
“That is the quality the three of us have, we can play with flexibility and on the training pitch it is the same. We all love playing together.”
Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil provided a positive injury update ahead of their Christmas Eve clash with Chelsea.
He said: “The good news is Rayan (Ait-Nouri) got through 25 minutes, Pedro (Neto) is nearly back and hopefully Jose Sa’s shoulder is not too serious.
“Disappointed (with the result) but still really positive around where we can get to and hopefully the turnaround we’ll see soon with some players back.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
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