As David Moyes emerged from the tunnel before West Ham United's Premier League home fixture against Brentford, there was a tacit understanding of sorts: victory was imperative.
United had dragged themselves through the thorny mire of the New Year period, last winning in any competition in late December – out of the FA Cup and at risk of falling into midtable, the atmosphere had soured.
Who should rise to the occasion when West Ham need a hero most but Jarrod Bowen? The 27-year-old's resounding hat-trick earned the Irons a maiden 2024 victory to place the squad behind seventh-placed Brighton only on goal difference.
Jarrod Bowen's game vs Brentford in numbers
Class is permanent. Bowen might have blanked for seven successive Premier League matches before Monday night's romping but his sweeping hat-trick underpinned his top quality.
Remarkably, his goals place him on 14 strikes for the league season, behind only usual suspects Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in the charts. Not bad for a winger in a 'defensive' system.
#
Player
Stat
1.
Erling Haaland
17
2.
Mohamed Salah
15
3.
Jarrod Bowen
14
3.
Dominic Solanke
14
3.
Ollie Watkins
14
As per Sofascore, he took 42 touches and completed 80% of his passes, and while he only won four of his 15 duels, was dribbled past twice and failed to make a single tackle or interception, he was tasked with serving as the focal frontman and he served as the conduit between playmaker and net to perfection.
Few would be surprised to learn that Brentford manager Thomas Frank lauded Bowen's "unplayable" display to consign his team to further misery, with Everton's recent points deduction slash sparking fresh fears for the safety of the Premier League's relegation contenders.
Now just two goals away from his finest-ever goalscoring campaign for West Ham, the £120k-per-week dynamo is so impressive and after clinching the winning goal against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final last June, he has maintained his talismanic aura and then some.
The fact is, Bowen's brilliant. He's an attacking outlet to rival any across Premier League football. he would thrive at Liverpool; he would score goals for fun under Pep Guardiola.
West Ham's system has been knocked askew across recent weeks but perhaps now a palpable sense of cohesion has rematerialised.
Moyes, naturally, has been rather placid in his disposition over recent matches, also saying after a defeat against Nottingham Forest at the start of February: "Maybe there would be managers who excite them more – but the one who is sitting here wins more."
Fair enough, but results have been dire and a turnaround was needed, and here it is. Bowen's innate faculty for sparking influential moments was never in question, he was always a threat.
The collective unit needed to step up, however, and the big victory over Brentford has highlighted some of the England international's peers' finest attributes.
Providing the all-action energy in the centre of the park, Edson Alvarez, for example, produced a display that allowed his free-scoring teammate to enter the limelight.
Edson Alvarez's performance vs Brentford
Lucas Paqueta returned from a long-term layoff but it was not he who caught the eye in Moyes' midfield, though, granted, the Brazilian maestro did enhance the fluency and spirit that had dissipated over the past few months.
Alvarez, aged 26 was hailed for his "unreal" recent performances by analyst Jack Fawcett despite West Ham's troubles, and against Frank's Bees he sparkled once again, handed a stunning 9/10 match rating by London World's Toby Bryant, who wrote: 'A titan tonight. Really impressive as he mopped up in midfield.'
Booked, the Mexican certainly didn't play a perfect game, completing just 75% of his passes, losing the ball 19 times and winning less than half – five out of 12 – of his contested duels, but statistics do not portray the full brilliant picture and, as such, his positioning, fortitude and rock-like protection of his backline must be factored in.
Alvarez also made two key passes, succeeded with two of his three attempted dribbles and won four interceptions and clearances apiece, showcasing his roundedness and mettle.
Having made the £35m move to the English capital from Dutch Eredivisie giants Ajax last summer, combatting the lucrative departure of Declan Rice to Arsenal, Alvarez has been largely excellent, completing 30 matches across all competitions, starting 21 times in the Premier League and receiving praise for his impact by The Athletic's West Ham correspondent Roshane Thomas.
Moreover, the 6 foot 1 machine ranks among the top 12% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles, the top 9% for blocks and the top 1% for clearances per 90, as per FBref.
His expertise as the anchorman allowed James Ward-Prowse – who provided his side with a fine display – to control and create and keep it crisp further up the pitch. Alvarez is the solvent to keep the Irons intact, cohesive, uniform.
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Again, is he perfect? No. Is he Rice? Afraid not. But this is a player signed last summer with a point to prove; industrious and deceptively elegant, Alvarez did the hard work to facilitate Bowen's scoring feats.
An ostensibly favourable run of fixtures pepper the road ahead for West Ham, and if Alvarez can harness and sustain his recent performance, the narrative might change pretty quickly at London Stadium.
It is just the one positive result at this stage but Paqueta is back, Bowen is firing and Alvarez is performing at the top of his game once more. There is much for the Hammers support to eagerly anticipate ahead of the business end of the campaign.
