West Ham 4-2 Wolves: Mukasa gives Nuno lift-off as Wolves lose control in London

West Ham have their first Championship win of the season. On September 1 at the London Stadium, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side beat Wolves 4-2, with D. Mukasa changing the direction of the match and, perhaps, the mood around West Ham.

This was a Premier League fixture not so long ago. Now it came with Championship pressure attached: West Ham trying to settle after relegation, Wolves arriving with promotion-zone momentum under Vítor Pereira. By full-time, the table still had Wolves above West Ham, but the message from east London was clear. West Ham have enough attacking punch to hurt the division’s better sides.

Mukasa scored in the 33rd minute, assisted by A. Engels, and from that point West Ham had something to protect and something to build on. J. Bowen made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute, but Wolves refused to let the first half drift away. M. Munetsi scored in the 44th minute, dragging Pereira’s team back into the match just before the interval.

There was still one more first-half incident, with Mukasa booked in the 45th minute for a foul. It mattered because West Ham’s best attacking player now had to manage the rest of his night carefully. He did more than that. He decided the game.

Mukasa scored again in the 53rd minute, this time assisted by Bowen. That was the key sequence: Bowen had already scored, then became provider, and Mukasa turned a narrow contest back into a West Ham match. Wolves had briefly threatened to make Nuno’s side nervous. Instead, West Ham reset the terms.

K. Mavropanos added West Ham’s fourth in the 64th minute. Five minutes later, his night turned strange when he was credited with an own goal in the 69th minute, making it 4-2 and giving Wolves a route back that had looked closed. But West Ham did not panic. They managed the final stages with changes, fouls and enough control to keep Wolves at arm’s length.

Lineups and shapes

The official feed did not list a numerical formation for either side, so no shape should be invented. What is clear is how both coaches built their teams.

Nuno Espírito Santo started West Ham with M. Hermansen in goal, K. Walker-Peters, K. Mavropanos, M. Kilman and O. Scarles in the defensive group, with J. Bowen, D. Mukasa, A. Engels and M. Solomon behind or around Pablo and J. Piroe.

Vítor Pereira’s Wolves started with José Sá in goal, J. Tchatchoua, N. Djiga, Toti Gomes and Hugo Bueno in defence, André, M. Munetsi, Rodrigo Gomes, Fer López and M. Mane across midfield areas, and R. Jiménez leading the line.

West Ham’s best work came through the connection between Engels, Bowen and Mukasa. Engels supplied the opener in the 33rd minute. Bowen then gave West Ham a two-goal cushion in the 42nd minute and assisted Mukasa in the 53rd minute. That triangle was the match-winning package.

Wolves had bodies in midfield, but too often the game ran away from them after turnovers and second-phase moments. Munetsi’s goal in the 44th minute gave them belief, but his substitution in the 66th minute, with T. Doyle coming on, came after West Ham had already stretched the scoreline again.

Match timeline

• 33rd minute: D. Mukasa scored for West Ham, assisted by A. Engels
• 42nd minute: J. Bowen scored a penalty for West Ham
• 44th minute: M. Munetsi scored for Wolves
• 45th minute: D. Mukasa was shown a yellow card for a foul
• 53rd minute: D. Mukasa scored for West Ham, assisted by J. Bowen
• 56th minute: J. Veltman replaced K. Walker-Peters for West Ham
• 56th minute: V. Castellanos replaced J. Piroe for West Ham
• 60th minute: A. Armstrong replaced Rodrigo Gomes for Wolves
• 64th minute: K. Mavropanos scored for West Ham
• 65th minute: J. James replaced R. Jiménez for Wolves
• 66th minute: T. Doyle replaced M. Munetsi for Wolves
• 69th minute: K. Lamadrid replaced D. Mukasa for West Ham
• 69th minute: M. Kanté replaced Pablo for West Ham
• 69th minute: K. Mavropanos scored an own goal for Wolves
• 79th minute: E. Austbo replaced M. Solomon for West Ham
• 80th minute: T. Chirewa replaced M. Mane for Wolves
• 87th minute: J. James was shown a yellow card for a foul
• 90+1st minute: V. Castellanos was shown a yellow card for a foul

Why it turned

Mukasa was the difference because he gave West Ham end product at the exact moments when the match needed definition. The first goal in the 33rd minute rewarded West Ham’s pressure. The second in the 53rd minute killed Wolves’ surge after Munetsi had scored in the 44th minute.

Bowen mattered just as much. His penalty in the 42nd minute was a senior attacker’s intervention in a tight first half, and his assist in the 53rd minute gave West Ham breathing room. Nuno will like that balance: one established attacker taking responsibility, one younger attacking piece giving the side edge and unpredictability.

Mavropanos had the oddest role in the story. His goal in the 64th minute looked to have settled everything. His own goal in the 69th minute reopened the match. In the same minute, Nuno also used Lamadrid and Kanté, with Mukasa and Pablo withdrawn. It looked like game management, not chaos.

Pereira tried to alter Wolves’ rhythm with Armstrong in the 60th minute, James in the 65th minute, Doyle in the 66th minute and Chirewa in the 80th minute. The changes added legs, but not enough control. James’ yellow card in the 87th minute and Castellanos’ booking in the 90+1st minute reflected a match that had become stretched and scrappy by the end.

The numbers

• Final score: West Ham 4-2 Wolves
• Competition: Championship, Regular Season - 4
• Date: September 1, 2026
• Venue: London Stadium
• West Ham after the match: 11th, 5 points, goal difference +1
• Wolves after the match: 3rd, 7 points, goal difference +3
• West Ham record after four matches: 1 win, 2 draws, 1 defeat
• Wolves record after four matches: 2 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat

West Ham have scored 8 and conceded 7 in four league matches. That tells the story neatly: dangerous, open, not yet fully stable. Wolves have scored 11 and conceded 8, which is promotion-chasing output with a defensive bill attached.

What it means

For West Ham, this was more than three points. It was a green light for Nuno’s attacking plan, with Mukasa and Bowen offering the kind of direct production that can change the emotional temperature of a relegated club.

For Wolves, the defeat does not destroy their start. They remain third, still in the play-off places. But conceding four at the London Stadium is a warning. Pereira has a side with goals in it, yet the defensive control has to come quickly if Wolves are to stay in the automatic promotion conversation with Swansea and Charlton setting the early pace.

West Ham go forward with proof. Wolves leave with a correction to make. In September, that matters. In the Championship, it can become the whole season.