Wolves 2-3 West Ham: Player ratings as Jesse Lingard puts Wolves to the sword

Another Jesse Lingard masterclass sent West Ham flying into the top four of the Premier League, as the Irons held on to earn a priceless win against Wolves at Molineux.

Lingard got things started for the Irons with one of the goals of his life, charging through the entire Wolves team and passing one into the bottom corner after some wonderful work from Vladimir Coufal to send him away.

The England midfielder was having one of the games of his life and his ingenuity made the second goal. He somehow kept the ball alive at the corner-flag and played in Arthur Masuaku, who picked out Fornals for a first-time finish.

West Ham might have worried that Michail Antonio's enforced departure could have turned the game on its head, but just three minutes passed before his replacement Jarrod Bowen hit the back of the net. Who got the assist? Oh yeah, Jesse Lingard, running past the entire Wolves team...again.

Wolves were being torn apart on the break but got one back before half-time when some wonderful work from Adama Traore found Leander Dendoncker in the area, and the Belgian did the rest with a powerful header.

Nuno Espirito Santo threw on Fabio Silva at the break, and within 20 minutes of coming on, the teenage striker made things uncomfortable for the visitors. He finished low beyond Lukasz Fabianski to set up a grand finale.

But the Irons held on to a win that could prove priceless in their pursuit of Champions League football.

Let's dive into some player ratings!

WOLVES

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Rui Patricio (GK) - 6/10 - Great save to deny Antonio early on but generally wasn't as busy as the scoreline suggests.

Nelson Semedo (RB) - 5/10 - The former Barcelona man was schooled by Arthur Masuaku. Not very often you get to write that sentence.

Conor Coady (CB) - 5/10 - Never seems quite at home in a back four. Struggled for pace against Antonio and wasn't his usual commanding self.

Roman Saiss (CB) - 6/10 - Stepped out to win the ball back a couple of times and looked comfortable at the heart of defence.

Rayan Ait Nouri (LB) - 6/10 - Sent in a few searching crosses and looked promising on the ball - granted he didn't see too much of it.

2. Midfielders

Leander Dendoncker (CM) - 5/10 - A bit all over the place with his positioning and that allowed West Ham to run Wolves over on the break. Great header to give his side a lifeline.

Ruben Neves (CM) - 6/10 - Tidy on the ball but let the game pass him by for long spells, much to Nuno Santo's frustration.

Daniel Podence (AM) - 6/10 - Rattled the crossbar with a first-half header despite being about 4'3. Replaced by Fabio Silva at the break.

3. Forwards

Pedro Neto (RW) - 6/10 - Created one or two problems but struggled to consistently threaten. Spurned a great headed chance before the half-time break.

Willian Jose (CF) - 5/10 - Might never score for Wolves. Had two good first-half chances but send one wide and another straight at Lukasz Fabianski.

Adama Traore (LW) - 7/10 - Back at his best to set up Dendoncker who gave Wolves a glimmer of hope on the stroke of half-time.

4. Substitutes

Fabio Silva (Podence, 45) - 7/10 - Great finish to put Wolves within a goal of the visitors.

Vitinha (Jose, 72) - 5/10

5.

WEST HAM

6. Goalkeeper & defenders

Lukasz Fabianski (GK) - 6/10 - One great save to deny Jose. No real chance with either Wolves goal.

Craig Dawson (CB) - 6/10 - The experienced defender continued to show his value as he was quick to snuff out a few promising Wolves counters.

Issa Diop (CB) - 6/10 - Held things together and marshalled Jose out of the game.

Aaron Cresswell (CB) - 7/10 - Played as a second left-back at times in lieu of West Ham's actual left-back playing as a winger. One or two very dangerous crosses.

7. Midfielders & wing-backs

Vladimir Coufal (RWB) - 6/10 - Was rinsed by Traore for Wolves' goal but otherwise defended stoically. Had a big hand in the second goal, combining with Fornals to free Lingard.

Tomas Soucek (CM) - 6/10 - Had the ball in the net for 4-1 but was undone by VAR. Took a sore one in the late stages but soldiered on.

Mark Noble (CM) - 6/10 - Did plenty of defensive work down the left flank and brought some streetwisdom to the West Ham team as they saw the game out.

Arthur Masuaku (LWB) - 7/10 - Lung-bursting run to assist the second goal and made Semedo's life a misery at times with his high starting position and charging runs. Faded out though and was replaced by Ben Johnson midway through the second half.

8. Forwards

Pablo Fornals (RW) - 7/10 - Lively and involved. Doesn't have the pace to properly thrive in the front three but found a role for himself here.

Michail Antonio (CF) - 7/10 - Might have had one of the goals of the season after skinning Dendoncker early on but was denied by Patricio. Made himself a real handful but only lasted half an hour before injury struck.

Jesse Lingard (LW) - 9/10 - Where do you even start? Ludicrous solo goal, ludicrous solo assist, and sandwiched between them was a ludicrous bit of skill that created the second goal. One word to describe his performance? Ludicrous.

9. Substitutes

Jarrod Bowen (Antonio, 38) - 7/10 - On in the 38th minute, scores in the 41st. Bosh.

Ben Johnson (Masuaku, 65) - 6/10

Said Benrahma (Fornals, 78) - 5/10