West Ham 3-1 Swansea: Find out how the Irons are twice as good as the rest of the league

Saturday's results left West Ham with the carrot of 24 hours in third spot, should they win this fixture. Swansea are currently also looking up rather than down (they started the day in eighth, with eyes on sixth), making this an intriguing fixture from the off.

The Swans took the lead against the run of play - so much so, that the move which ended in Wilfried Bony coolly slotting the visitors ahead featured their second, third and fourth successful passes in the attacking third of the first 19 minutes.

West Ham continued to enjoy more possession of the ball throughout the first half, although Swansea were creating the better chances - the benefit of playing on the counter against a team throwing men forward in seach of a goal.

Sam Allardyce's side levelled just before the break, when Andy Carroll's towering header from a Carl Jenkinson cross arched over Lukasz Fabianski in the Swansea goal and into the net. Carroll scored a second header in the second half, before Fabianski was dismissed for a foul on Diafra Sakho, who was otherwise clear through on goal.

Sakho sealed the points by rattling in a superb third - powering onto the end of a long-ball upfield and blasting past Gerhard Tremmel, the Swans' replacement keeper.

• West Ham have won 10 and lost 0 of their last 12 home games against Swansea in all competitions.
• 16 of Swansea’s 20 league goals this season have been either scored or assisted by one of Wilfried Bony or Gylfi Sigurdsson.

• Wilfried Bony has 19 goals in the Premier League in 2014, more than any other player.

• Swansea have now thrown away 16 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season.
• Andy Carroll's opening goal was his first in 878 minutes of Premier League action. 8 of the Geordie targetman's last 12 Premier League goals have come via his head.

• Carroll has scored 3 goals and assisted 3 more in 3 appearances for West Ham United against Swansea.

• West Ham have 12 headed goals this season, twice as many as any other Premier League side. Only in one previous Premier League season have West Ham scored more headed goals (13 in 2009/10).
• Stewart Downing has more Premier League assists this season (6) than he managed in 65 games during his Liverpool career (5).

• Diafra Sakho has now scored 7 times in his last 8 Premier League appearances for West Ham.
• West Ham midfielder Alex Song made more successful passes in the attacking third (18), successful take-ons (4) and ball recoveries (10) than any other player on the pitch.

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