Manuel Pellegrini said:

"We are very pleased. It was important for us to have a good performance both attacking and defending, getting that clean sheet and two score two goals.

"From the very first minute we started to try and win the match.

"Our chances (of a top seven finish) are the same. We need to continue playing in exactly the same way. We now need to go and beat Cardiff and after that we need to play two games more here against Huddersfield and Everton.

"We continue having a gap to Wolverhampton, but we just need to keep playing as we are.

"He (Manuel Lanzini) changed the play of the team. 

"He passed the ball, tried to do different things and always tried to play forward to give assistance to the forwards. My idea was not to play for the whole game, but he told me he was fine so he carried on. I am very happy for him and the team.

Declan (Rice) is a young player, starting his career and he must continue to do what he is doing every day, listening to the players who have more experience than him that can help in his development.

"He is a complete player, and I said last week that for me in this moment he is the best English holding midfielder. The other important thing is that he is trying to learn every day.

"I am very happy for Declan because in every game he is improving and I am happy for the team. 
Both goals came from set pieces and we prepared for them, the way Robert [Snodgrass] put the ball in."

"The most important thing was to give his name to the stand, and the presence of him (Billy Bonds) in the stadium made everyone happy.

“We continued to celebrate with two players from the Academy scoring both goals. It was a complete day."

Following successive 2-0 victories on Tyneside, Newcastle were beaten by the same score at the London Stadium on Saturday night, visibly feeling the effects of a third match in eight days.

Retaining the same starting lineup from Tuesday's home success over Burnley, the Magpies seldom looked comfortable against a Hammers side who huffed and puffed but rarely hit their stride.

Two first half goals took the game beyond Rafa Benitez's side, although a better second half display could have been enough to get them back on terms had some good chances been taken.

A combination of bad luck, poor finishing and good defending from the hosts denied Newcastle, Salomon Rondon hitting the post with a fierce free-kick and Ayoze Perez, Fabian Schar and Isaac Hayden all seeing efforts blocked.

After deservedly taking plaudits for their defensive prowess in recent games, today sadly saw the Magpies back line have a collective day to forget; questions over marking when Declan Rice evaded Fabian Schar to head home a corner on seven minutes. 

And when Florian Lejeune conceded a penalty that Mark Noble converted shortly before half time, Newcastle's three game unbeaten run was well on to way to being halted.

Five minutes of added time were added to the first period, mainly due to a clash of heads between Javier Manquillo and Aaron Cresswell that saw both players bleeding and the Spaniard continue with a bandage while the West Ham player went off with a pre-existing foot problem.

Sean Longstaff was replaced at half-time after picking up a knee injury in a challenge that saw the youngster booked, Mo Diame (complete with a plaster over one eye after his tussle with Peter Crouch the previous Tuesday) appearing for the second half against his old side.

That added presence to a Newcastle midfield who had been hassled out of their stride by the home side but our distribution remained below par. It's tempting to think that Jonjo Shelvey could have remedied that, but the midfielder's lack of fitness meant that his contribution this weekend was rightly restricted to an hour for the U23s across the capital at Fulham's training ground.

It's easy to criticise the manager for not rotating his lineup for this third game in quick succession, but the counter argument of not altering a side that had found form was equally persuasive. While Yoshinori Muto returned to the bench, there was no sign of either Kenedy or Antonio Barreca.      

A disappointing afternoon for the black and whites still saw them create several decent chances, underlining a feeling that we've gained reward from inferior performances on the road this season. 

Ayoze Perez fired wide when he could have crossed and after a sluggish opening half, Rondon saw one shot saved and a header that may have found the bottom corner of the net blocked.

With a minute remaining, Rondon fired in a free-kick from the left edge of the box that Fabianski looked to have touched on to the post.  Substitute Christian Atsu then fired high and wide in added time and at the other end Lanzini tested Martin Dubravka from outside the box.

It just wasn't to be our night but thankfully Cardiff City, Southampton and Burnley had all lost earlier, meaning we remained six points above the bottom three. Fulham's latest reverse the following day completed a sequence of positive results elsewhere that enhanced an underlying feeling of damage limitation here. 

File under misadventure rather than disaster.

Biffa