West Ham 6 – 0 Wrexham

West Ham made easy work of Wrexham in a 6-0 victory at the London Stadium to make it four in a row and go top of the Championship.

With the look of a side still belonging to the Premier League, Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham controlled the game from the outset, overwhelming the visitors at times.

Captain Jarrod Bowen opened the floodgates in the 28th minute, arriving at the far post to convert Manor Solomon’s cross after a flowing move.

West Ham continued to press and doubled their advantage seven minutes before half-time. Taty Castellanos drove into the box before finding Joel Piroe, who made no mistake with a first-time finish.

There was no let-up after the interval and Konstantinos Mavropanos headed Bowen’s inviting corner beyond Anthony Patterson just three minutes into the second half.

Castellanos added one of his own in the 63rd minute, finishing calmly after Kyle Walker-Peters drove forward before teeing up the Argentina international.

Mohamadou Kante made it 5-0 in the 76th minute, racing onto Manor Solomon’s clever ball over the top before finishing past Patterson.

Solomon then got his reward for an excellent individual display, adding the sixth. Walker-Peters teed up the Hammers No 10, who controlled, turned and fired home despite Patterson getting a hand to the effort.

The result lifts West Ham to 14 points from six games, taking them above West Brom at the top of the Championship making a statement with 16 goals in their last four outings after a shaky start.

For Wrexham, it was a chastening night as their previously stubborn defence was breached six times to who suffered their heaviest league defeat in in over two decades.

All the goals from the London Stadium

Analysis: West Ham make statement that should strike fear into the Championship

Sky Sports’ William Bitibiri at the London Stadium:

“It’s one thing to win four league games in a row, but to put six past a Wrexham side that had conceded just five goals in their opening six games shows the level this team are currently operating at.

“There was an ‘FA Cup third round’ kind of feeling to the game that should put the rest of the division on notice.

“West Ham were aggressive, played with intensity and, importantly, never took their foot off the gas.

“There was a ruthlessness to them that you want to see from a team serious about bouncing straight back to the Premier League.

“Bowen, Solomon, Piroe and Castellanos all contributed, while Mavropanos added another goal from a set-piece.

“What impressed me most was the mentality. At 3-0, 4-0, even 5-0, they kept pushing.

“They’ve gone top, made it four wins in a row and scored 16 goals across those victories. That is a statement of intent.”

The managers

West Ham’s Nuno Espirito Santo:

“It’s a good game, and that’s very important for us. For them, it’s good to score, to have confidence, and we know that we have to go again, but we are in a better place.

“The last one was a big moment, a big, big moment. Everything can change. But after that, I think overall, in terms of chances, we were really good.

“We didn’t allow too many chances. We pressed them well, we organised, so it was good.

“It’s so important that not only this game, but the players that are coming from the bench bring this energy.”

Wrexham’s Phil Parkinson:

“For 25 minutes we were in the game and then two moments where our defending wasn’t good enough. We gave a team already full of confidence a huge lift and the third goal kind of really killed us tonight.

“Part of me is being reasonable and saying that these are a very good side, they’ve got a multi-million pound attacking force, probably a strike force which could be in the Premier League, but equally we can do a lot better.

“We’ve always, whatever division we’ve been in, wherever we’ve played, had the ability to show resilience and stay in games and give ourselves a chance.

“Tonight, after those first two goals, we kind of lost our way and we’ve got to analyse that quickly as a group and put the fundamentals back in place to give ourselves a chance in the next game.”

What the result means and next fixtures…