West Ham United boosted their hopes of Premier League safety with a 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Burnley at Turf Moor.
First-half goals from Crysencio Summerville and centre-forward Taty Castellanos moved the Hammers three points off 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who were beaten 3-1 by Leeds United on Friday.
The in-form Summerville broke the deadlock with a neat finish on 13 minutes, as the West Ham winger found the net for a fourth successive Premier League game and his fifth in a row in all competitions.
Castellanos then headed home his first Premier League goal and, despite brief spells of pressure from their hosts, West Ham eased to an important three points.
The Hammers stay 18th, eight points clear of Burnley in 19th, and one victory off potentially moving out of the relegation zone.
How the match unfolded
West Ham quickly asserted their authority on the match and took the lead when Mateus Fernandes led a swift counter-attack before feeding Summerville, who neatly dinked the ball over onrushing Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Summerville was involved again as the Hammers doubled their advantage on 26 minutes. His deft flick released El Hadji Malick Diouf, whose inviting cross was converted by the head of Castellanos.
Burnley looked to respond before the break, with Marcus Edwards bending a 20-yard shot narrowly wide of the far post in the 40th minute.
The Clarets continued to threaten in the second half. It took a superb last-ditch block from West Ham defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka to deny Edwards, and Hammers goalkeeper Mads Hermansen kept out Zian Flemming's close-range header.
Burnley centre-back Bashir Humphreys also sent a low drive narrowly wide from distance, but the Clarets could not find the goal to get them back in the contest, as West Ham held out for all three points.
Another bleak day for Burnley
Now without a win in 16 Premier League games and still 11 points from safety, things are looking difficult for Burnley.
Scott Parker's side missed the chance to move within two points of West Ham, as they failed to recover from a slow start at Turf Moor.
It is nearly four years since the Clarets last won a Premier League game when conceding first, so the signs were not promising when Summerville's opener punished them for sloppy play in midfield.
The hosts then left Diouf unmarked and with plenty of time to deliver a pinpoint cross for Castellanos to attack and give West Ham breathing space.
Burnley improved after the break, and had it not been for a couple of important last-ditch interventions by their opponents, they could well have been back on level terms early in the second half.
However, the breakthrough ultimately eluded the Clarets, whose next chance to stop their rot comes at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
West Ham inflict hammer blow to Burnley
West Ham’s third win in four Premier League games has moved them within touching distance of climbing out of the relegation zone.
After Forest were beaten at Elland Road less than 24 hours earlier, Nuno’s side knew this was a great opportunity to capitalise, and they did just that.
The Hammers have scored the most goals in the opening 15 minutes in the Premier League this season, and they added another one in this match, courtesy of Summerville’s opener.
The winger is the first West Ham player to score in five straight games in all competitions since Jesse Lingard in 2021, and his brimming levels of confidence were evident with his exquisite finish.
Castellanos then opened his Premier League account with a thumping header to give his own confidence levels a timely boost and, though the Hammers struggled to threaten much in the second half, their two-goal advantage was ultimately enough to put the game beyond Burnley.
Nuno will be urging his players to build on their momentum when West Ham host a resurgent Manchester United on Tuesday.
Club reports
Burnley report | West Ham report
What the managers said
Scott Parker: “It was a tough day. A really disappointing outcome to a really important game. You can see a fragility to us at the moment. It was an edgy environment. You could feel it in the stadium.
Nuno Espirito Santo: "From minute one, we were switched on, on the front foot, we press, we recover balls, we went. We didn't allow too many situations to Burnley. That makes a big difference, makes a big difference."
Next five PL fixtures
Key facts
West Ham have won three of their last four Premier League games (L1), as many as they had in their previous 21 (D5 L13).
Burnley are winless in their last 16 Premier League games (D5 L11). They’re one of just two teams in England’s top four tiers without a league win since the start of November, along with the Championship's bottom club, Sheffield Wednesday.
Burnley had 18 shots, their most in a single Premier League match this season.
West Ham kept their first Premier League clean sheet since a 3-0 win at Forest in August, ending a run of 21 games in which they’d conceded at least once.