Declan Rice nets penalty as West Ham ease to victory over Sheffield United

Declan Rice's first-half penalty helped West Ham on their way to a 3-0 win over Sheffield United at the London Stadium.

The Blades, desperate for points at the bottom of the table, proved stubborn in the first half and for 40 minutes held the hosts with Aaron Ramsdale called into action on several occasions.

But Chris Basham brought down Jesse Lingard just before the interval and Rice was on hand to open the scoring from the spot.

And the visitors' confidence looked dented as, less than 15 minutes into the second half, West Ham doubled their lead as Issa Diop met Aaron Cresswell's corner with a towering header.

David McGoldrick and Basham went close to pulling a goal back, but substitute Ryan Fredericks grabbed a third for West Ham instead after a lovely assist from Said Benrahma.

West Ham taking all three points to leapfrog Liverpool into fifth in the table, while Sheffield United remain rooted to the bottom, 14 points adrift of safety.