Player Ratings: West Ham 6 Deadpool 0

It may always be sunny in Philadelphia, but last night at London Stadium, a black cloud hovered over Wrexham, as Ryan Reynolds and Robbie Mac's club were dismantled by a score of 6 to nil. West Ham produced their most complete attacking performance of the season, sending six different scorers onto the sheet and climbing to the top of the Championship in the process.

Nuno Espírito Santo made five changes from the midweek win at Bolton, and every single one of them paid off. Morato was handed his first start for the club at left-back just three days after catching the eye off the bench, and he repaid the faith immediately, supplying the low cross that Jarrod Bowen turned home at the near post in the 28th minute to open the scoring. Nine minutes later it was 2-0, Taty Castellanos springing Wrexham's high line before squaring for Joël Piroe to smash home first time. Wrexham, who'd conceded just five goals in their opening six matches of the season, suddenly looked a completely different squad defensively.

Any hope of a second-half rescue mission for Phil Parkinson's side lasted all of three minutes. Konstantinos Mavropanos rose to head home a Bowen corner for 3-0, and West Ham never let their foot off the gas from there. Castellanos got his own goal just past the hour mark, finishing left-footed at the end of a rapid counter led by a rampaging Kyle Walker-Peters off the bench. Substitute Mohamadou Kanté added a fifth shortly after coming on, finishing off a pass over the top from Manor Solomon, before Solomon completed the rout himself with eight minutes left, tucking in off the post after yet another Walker-Peters assist. This was Wrexham's heaviest league defeat in over two decades, managing just 0.39 expected goals from eight shots all night against West Ham's 2.51 xG from 19 attempts.

“We got punished against a very good team,” Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said after the match. “We are not going to hide away from that. They have a multi-million-pound attack, so we have to take that into consideration.” 

This was West Ham's fourth straight league victory, taking their tally to 16 goals in that run and lifting them above West Brom to the summit of the Championship. Bowen's evening summed up the gulf between the sides: one goal, one assist, and five chances created, extending his league-leading tally to 23 chances created and seven goal involvements this season, both the most of any player in the division. 

“4 games in a row from a start where it was a welcome to the Championship,” Bowen said in an interview with Sky Sports. “When it clicks, it clicks. When confidence is confidence, it just runs through the whole team, and you just have performances like tonight.”  

Player Ratings

• Mads Hermansen - 6.5: A quiet night between the posts, untroubled en route to the clean sheet.
• Joël Veltman - 6: Tidy before making way early, seemingly through injury. Let's hope it's not serious! 
• Konstantinos Mavropanos - 8.5: A goal from a corner and imperious throughout in the air and on the ground. A staggering backline save on Wrexham’s best chance at a scoring chance. This was his best performance of the season. 
• Max Kilman - 7: Composed and rarely troubled in a defense that barely had to work. He has remained as steady as Axel Disasi was last season. 
• Morato - 7.5: A dream full debut.  An assist on his first start and no shortage of composure at left-back. Any concerns about him playing on the left were squashed tonight. 
• Arene Engels - 7.5: Controlled the tempo through the middle without much fuss. Interceptions, pinpoint connections. Engels continues to get stronger. 
• Divine Mukasa - 7.5: It felt like the 18-year-old was everywhere tonight, both defensively and moving up the pitch. 
• Jarrod Bowen (c) - 8.5: Goal, assist, and the kind of all-around captain's performance that's defined his season so far. There should be no more doubts about this man. 
• Manor Solomon - 8: A well-taken goal and a constant outlet down the left all night. If anyone was thinking he was ready to lose his starting position, this match reinvigorated every reason why he needs to start. The stutter lob pass over the head of defenders, giving a clear shot for Kanté to bury one, was pure brilliance. 
• Taty Castellanos - 8.5: Sharp, direct, and clinical.  A real statement return from injury. No one should doubt his commitment now. 
• Joël Piroe - 8: Clinical when the chance arrived, making an immediate case for a longer run in the side. While he missed a couple of early chances, Piroe always finds himself in the right place for a scoring chance. 

Off the Bench

• Kyle Walker-Peters - 7: Electric after coming on, driving the counter that led to West Ham's fourth.
• Mohamedou Kanté - 7.5: Needed only a matter of minutes to get on the scoresheet himself. Nuno deployed him in an attacking position, and he did not disappoint. 
• Ollie Scarles - 6: Saw out a game that was already well beyond doubt by the time he entered. Wasn’t challenged much. 
• Lewis Orford - 6: Came on with 15 minutes left and commanded possession, giving nothing away. 
• Joshua Ajala - 6: Would have been nice to get him in earlier, but continued to stretch the field despite being up by so many goals. 

Four wins on the bounce, top of the table, and a squad now looking genuinely dangerous in the final third. This is exactly the version of West Ham that was supposed to turn up after relegation, and it's arrived at just the right time. Wrexham was clearly overwhelmed by the moment. It was the largest crowd they had ever played in front of, and West Ham exploited that all night long.

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