West Ham 3-1 Fulham: Javier Hernandez scores winner with his left hand

The instant replays on the London Stadium’s big screens only shovelled salt into the wounds for Claudio Ranieri, who felt Fulham were the victims of an injustice on Friday night.

The visitors scored within three minutes but their lead was cancelled out when Javier Hernandez applied a finish which would not look out of place in a beach volleyball tournament.

He dived and diverted the ball into the back of the net using his hand. Next season, VAR would rule it out. On this occasion, referee Lee Mason missed it and Fulham wound up losing.  

Javier Hernandez scored a controversial goal with his left hand to help West Ham United beat Fulham in the Premier League 

French defender Issa Diop was also on target for West Ham, who climbed to ninth in the Premier League table with their win

Ryan Babel (centre) had earlier given Fulham an early lead with his first goal since signing from Besiktas in January

Michail Antonio added a third West Ham goal in second-half stoppage time to make sure of the victory for the home side

To tell the truth, the Cottagers did not deserve a lot out of this. To describe their defending here as Sunday League would do a disservice to any amateur weekend warriors out there.

This defeat moves Fulham one step closer to dropping back down to the Championship, despite their £100million spending spree in the summer. It moves Ranieri closer to the sack, too.

The former Premier League title winner was hired to steer Fulham to safety but apart from an amusing selection of soundbites, he has not brought much to the party.

Ranieri went into this match with the words ‘must-win’ ringing in his ears. Plenty holding microphones in front of him had used the phrase in the build-up.

For good reason, too. Fulham were the only top-flight side without an away win this season and they had leaked a league-high 58 goals – 10 more than any other side.

Despite those doom-and-gloom statistics, Fulham should have taken the lead after 38 seconds. Pablo Zabaleta attempted a back pass but failed to see the bloke with bright red hair. Ryan Babel stole the ball and was left with Lukasz Fabianski to beat. He took an age and his shot was saved.

Any Fulham hands on heads were soon in the air in celebration when Babel scored with two minutes, 49 seconds on the clock. How simple it was, too.

Ryan Sessegnon crossed, no defenders got near it, and Babel tapped in for his first Premier League goal in 3,000 days. Issa Diop, Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna all stared at one another, wondering who should have been marking who. 

Moments before getting his first goal for Fulham, Babel was denied from close range by a save from keeper Lukasz Fabianski

But Fabianski was unable to keep out Babel’s low shot on three minutes as Fulham took an early lead at the London Stadium

Babel used his left foot to fire a low first-time shot past Fabianski as players from both teams watched on in the penalty area

Fulham’s Joe Bryan (left) and Ryan Sessegnon — who assisted the goal — joined Babel to celebrate after Fulham went ahead

Holland international Babel jumped up and punched the air after scoring his first Premier League goal since December 2010

At the other end of the pitch Fulham keeper Sergio Rico looked delighted after seeing Babel score the game’s opening goal

Fulham’s away supporters at the London Stadium were clearly very pleased after witnessing Babel’s first goal for the club

‘How s*** must you be? We’re winning away,’ sang the visiting supporters who had seen their side lose their last eight London derbies in succession.

They weren’t leading for long. West Ham got back into it before the half-hour mark.

A corner was whipped in, and Sergio Rico made a mess of a punched clearance. The ball bounced off the heads of Michail Antonio and Ogbonna before finding Hernandez.

The Mexican striker, who was searching for his 50th Premier League goal, stuck his head out but instead used his hand to force it in. Referee Mason took no notice of the Fulham protests.

The big screens inside the London Stadium showed the replay which, understandably, left the visiting supporters upset. Sadly, VAR was not there to save them.

Ranieri was furious on the touchline, and rightly so. His mood worsened when another corner was whipped in and Diop, surrounded by five white shirts, headed home.

Fulham have now conceded 60 goals this season – more than anyone else in Europe’s big five leagues. Steve Holland, linked with taking over from Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, was in the stands at the London Stadium. It just so happens that the Blues face the Cottagers on March 3.

West Ham introduced Manuel Lanzini for the final 15 minutes to make his first appearance since May 2018 following a 10-month injury lay-off.

Marko Arnautovic was brought on, too, as he looks for forgiveness from the fans he thought he bid farewell in January. He struck the woodwork in the dying moments, then set up Antonio as his header made it 3-1.

Another loss for Fulham, and the future is looking bleak for their boss.

But the Hammers were soon level thanks to Hernandez who equalised in controversial circumstances from close range

Mexico international Hernandez punished some static Fulham defending as he put the ball in the net using his left hand

Hernandez raised his left hand, which had moments earlier diverted the ball into Fulham’s net, as the striker celebrated

Midfielder Declan Rice hugged team-mate Hernandez after West Ham had hit back to draw level with the Cottagers

Rice attempted to encourage the West Ham fans to raise the noise level at the London Stadium following their equaliser

And the West Ham fans had cause to make noise when Diop headed the home side into a 2-1 lead before the half-time break

Diop rose well against Fulham No 4 Denis Odoi before powering a header into the net to make the score 2-1 to West Ham 

Angelo Ogbonna hugged Diop as West Ham’s players expressed their jubilation on the pitch after taking the lead on Friday