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• Bowen: Victory at Newcastle 'a really big turning point' for West Ham

  Jarrod Bowen praised the manner of West Ham's victory at Newcastle United and believes it will act as "a really big turning point" in his side's campaign.

  West Ham won 2-0 at St James' Park in Monday's Premier League contest thanks to goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

  The victory is just the Hammers' fourth in 12 league matches under Julen Lopetegui, who has seen his job as head coach called into question early in his tenure.

  Bowen, who assisted Wan-Bissaka's goal, believes things are now starting to turn for his side after a slow start to the campaign.

  Asked by Sky Sports if it could be a big win for Lopetegui, Bowen replied: "I think it is for everyone associated with the club. We've been disappointed with our start. 

  "We have to take responsibility and do our work. We haven't done that to a high enough ability this year. It was a real big moment and this is a really big turning point in our season.

  "[Lopetegui] has come in with different ideas and playing from the back but also mixing it up as well.

  "That's up to us to adapt too, and he has come in with fresh good ideas, especially for us attacking players. We are getting there."

  Bowen overtook Paolo Di Canio with his 79th Premier League goal involvement for West Ham and is now behind only Michail Antonio (101) and Mark Noble (82).

  Wan-Bissaka's strike early in the second half added to Soucek's 10th-minute opener, with that his fourth Premier League goal against Newcastle – against no team does he have a better record.

  West Ham remain 14th in the league but are now just three points off the top-half places, with a home match against Arsenal next up on Saturday.

  Lopetegui, who replaced David Moyes ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, was pleased with the win but believes there is more to come from his side.

  "We are happy. I think that we played well," he told Sky Sports. "We played with one identity and we were able to overcome a very good team. 

  "They started well and it is always good to have more confidence. They had two chances and I think in the second half we did well and deserved to win.

  "I am happy for the players, for the team and for the fans. They will have to drive a lot of miles so we are happy for them. We look forward to the next challenge. We are happy but we have a lot of work to do.

  "We have to build as a team if we are to work and know what we want to do. I think about their play. That is the thing that we try to do. 

  "We have a lot of matches that we need to do and I believe in the future this team is going to be able to show the style as a team. 

  "The players believe and they are able to put in the focus every day. Each match is one incredible challenge in the Premier League."

• Fonseca urges focus as Milan face bottom-placed Bratislava

  Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has urged his players not to underestimate the challenge posed by Slovan Bratislava in Tuesday's Champions League match, even though the Slovakian side are bottom of the standings after losing four straight games.

  Slovan Bratislava have yet to earn a point and have a minus-13 goal difference, while Milan are 20th with six points and within the play-off section.

  "Am I at risk of underestimating tomorrow’s match? I expect that won’t happen. Today we talked about the importance of winning tomorrow. We mustn’t look at their history," Fonseca told a press conference on Monday.

  "We must think that tomorrow we are playing at their home. It will be important to have the right attitude."

  Fonseca added that his side often perform better against teams that on paper appear stronger than them, such as their 3-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the previous Champions League matchweek.

  "What I know is that against the big teams we have done well and that [we have] done less well against the small teams," Fonseca said.

  "We work to be a team with the attitude and ambitions shown against the big teams. We work to always be the same team.

  "The Champions League is the Champions League. Everyone likes to be in these games, the motivation is greater. I expect them to be able to play the Champions League tomorrow with this motivation."

  Milan faced criticism following their dull 0-0 draw with Juventus at the weekend, with Fonseca admitting his side fell short of their best.

  "We are aware of what we did well and what we did less well. We did several things less well," Fonseca said.

  "The problem is that the dimension of things in Milan seems different to me: a draw with Juve for us is a defeat, for others a victory."

• Newcastle United 0-2 West Ham: Soucek and Wan-Bissaka relieve pressure on Lopetegui

  Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored as West Ham defeated Newcastle United 2-0 at St James' Park on Monday to ease the pressure on boss Julen Lopetegui.

  Newcastle entered the game on a three-match winning run, including back-to-back victories in the Premier League, but it was a previously out-of-form West Ham side who came out on top.

  Soucek profited from some poor Newcastle defending to head West Ham into a 10th-minute lead, coming after Alexander Isak had a goal rightly disallowed for offside.

  Isak missed a good chance and Anthony Gordon was denied by Lukasz Fabianski, before Wan-Bissaka fired in his first goal for the Hammers eight minutes into the second half after being played in by Jarrod Bowen.

  Fabianski had next to nothing to do from that point on as West Ham saw out a win that keeps them 14th but now within three points of Newcastle, who are 10th and still four points adrift of the top four.

  Data Debrief: Happy Mondays for West Ham

  West Ham have now won eight of their past nine Premier League games on a Monday, with the only exception in that run being a 3-1 loss at Arsenal on Boxing Day 2022.

  Soucek's goal was his fourth against Newcastle in the Premier League – against no side does he have more – with each of those giving West Ham the lead.

  Three of Wan-Bissaka's four goals in the competition have come against today's opponents, meanwhile, this latest one being assisted by Bowen.

  The England forward has now been involved in 79 Premier League goals for West Ham – one more than Paolo Di Canio, and now behind only Michail Antonio (101) and Mark Noble (82).