West Ham United slammed in 'useless' verdict as Aston Villa comparison made

West Ham United were called "useless" by Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg during their 5-2 loss at Crystal Palace, who referenced Aston Villa's 3-1 victory over Bournemouth as a direct comparison.

West Ham were 4-0 down after just 31 minutes at Selhurst Park, and despite pulling goals back towards the back end of both halves, Palace scored once more in the second period to round off a huge 5-2 victory at Selhurst Park.

David Moyes' side were playing after an intense Europa League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen on 18 April, but Steinberg was quick to mention in a post on X that Aston Villa also played on Thursday night, for 120 minutes plus a penalty shoot-out in their Conference League triumph over Lille.

With West Ham 5-1 down at the time, Steinberg wrote: "Not a great look for West Ham that Aston Villa, who went to penalties in a hard away game on Thursday, are 3-1 up against Bournemouth. The Sunday performances don’t have to be so useless."

West Ham wilt at Crystal Palace with European hopes slipping away

West Ham United still sit eighth in the table despite their 5-2 humbling by Crystal Palace, a mere two points off the top six having played two games more than both Newcastle and Manchester United above them.

The Irons' goal difference, however, has taken a heavy hit, and now stands at -9, a stark contrast to the +9 of Chelsea, who are just one place and one point below them in the table.

With the sides around them all in far better form than the Hammers of late, David Moyes' side's journey back into Europe for next season is looking anything but assured.

They were just a few minutes away from inflicting a first defeat of the season on Bayer Leverkusen just days ago, but having conceded a late equaliser on 89 minutes to seal a 3-1 aggregate defeat, Moyes has not been able to lift his players back up off the canvas ahead of their visit to Palace.

And after being played off the park for a second London derby in a row, the week just gone may have dealt West Ham's hopes of playing any football on the continent next season a fatal blow.

In other West Ham news, Alan Shearer has been slammed after what he said about David Moyes. 

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