Newcastle v West Ham player ratings: Murphy 6, Wilson 7; Benrahma 8, Antonio 8

Hammers produce stunning comeback to seal 4-2 win at St James' Park

NEWCASTLE RATINGS: Freddie Woodman - 6: First league start for Magpies and would have been disappointed when Cresswell’s low cross flew straight in. Good stop from Bowen soon after, though. Fine penalty save from Antonio but couldn’t stop Soucek scoring rebound.

Emil Krafth - 5: Swede played on the right of a back three and needed to work better with Murphy to stop threat of Cresswell. Wastefully shot over after being teed-up by Ritchie just before half-time.

Ciaran Clark - 6: Enjoyed battles at both ends of pitch with Dawson on crosses. Saw left-footed shot hit side netting and a header fly over in first half. Struggled to contain Antonio after half-time.

Federico Fernandez - 6: Magpies captain had been solid but couldn’t hold defence together as West Ham took charge in second half. Deflected Soucek strike wide to prevent a fifth goal.

Jacob Murphy - 6: Rollercoaster day for wingback. Struggled to prevent Cresswell swinging in crosses from the left – but then produced lovely header into corner to put Magpies back in front. Poor challenge on Fornals gifted penalty to Hammers.

Isaac Hayden - 6: Vital role in front of defence when you’ve got marauding attackers like Almiron and Saint-Maximin looking to bomb on but was outshone by Rice playing similar role for opponents.

Jonjo Shelvey - 6: Good ball to pick out Wilson, whose backheel effort almost put Newcastle 2-1 up. Booked for rash challenge on Benrahma. Lack of pace is a problem at times.

Matt Ritchie - 7: Fabulous pulled-back cross to set up Murphy’s goal and put another chance on plate for Krafth that Swede fired over.

Miguel Almiron - 6: Vital header off the line to deny Coufal scoring just after kick-off, saw deflected strike hit top of bar at other end after 25 minutes. Disappeared in second half.

Allan Saint-Maximin - 7: Danced around Rice to supply opening goal and a general nightmare to defend against. Can still be frustrating with his final ball and losing possession in key areas - like he did for Benrahma's goal – but keeping him fit will be key to Newcastle’s season.

Callum Wilson - 7: Goal-poacher’s header from close-range to open scoring after superb run and cross by Saint-Maximin. Had cheeky back-heel saved by Fabianski and clearly relishes being Newcastle’s No 9.

SUBS: Ryan Fraser – (On for Shelvey 70’) 6: Scottish attacker curled one shot a metre wide of post from distance.

Sean Longstaff – (On for Krafth 84’) N/A.

Joelinton – (On for Wilson 84’) N/A.

WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski - 6: Tipped deflected Almiron shot onto top of bar in first half. Flat-footed as he watched Murphy’s header sail into the corner for Newcastle's second goal.

Vladimir Coufal - 7: Thought he’d scored after two minutes but header cleared off line. Relentless surging runs down flank, particularly in second half.

Craig Dawson - 6: Hands full against Wilson's movement, trickery of Saint-Maximin and Clark on corners - but stuck to task.

Angelo Ogbonna - 8: Italian defender is rock at back for West Ham and was best defender on pitch at St James’ Park.

Aaron Cresswell - 7: His crosses from the left were a constant problem for Newcastle and it was Creswell’s low ball into box that flew straight into net to level for Hammers - after VAR review for offside. Costly loss of possession in run-up to Newcastle’s first goal.

Declan Rice - 8: Wonderful summer with England but turned inside out by Saint-Maximin before Wilson’s opener after five minutes. Important tackle on Frenchman started move for Benrahma goal. Dominated centre of park after break.

Thomas Soucek - 7: Provided his usual danger in the air and showed great reactions to fire home the third goal after Antonio’s penalty was saved. Almost made it 5-2 but shot was deflected wide.

Jarrod Bowen - 7: Got touch on Cresswell’s goal but ball had already crossed line, then denied goal by good Woodman stop after a silky run through Newcastle’s defence. Always a threat.

Said Benrahma - 8: Left Shelvey for dead after 15 minutes but cross into box that followed far too high. Curled shot just wide just before break. Excellent header into bottom corner for Hammers’ second.

Pablo Fornals - 7: Full of tricks – some coming off, some not – and pulled the strings for West Ham in first half. Caught ball-watching as Murphy headed home for Newcastle. Fouled by Murphy to earn side penalty.

Michail Antonio - 8: Perfect left-footed cross found Benrahma at back post for second equaliser. Headed against post from point-blank range just before West Ham won penalty, which he then missed – but smacked home fourth goal three minutes later. Equals Paolo di Canio’s record of 47 Premier League goals for Irons.

SUBS: Ryan Fredericks – (On for Benrahma 89’) N/A.

Andriy Yarmolenko – (On for Bowen 90’) N/A.

Ben Johnson – (On for Antonio 90+2’) N/A.

West Ham produced a superb second-half comeback to beat Newcastle United 4-2 in a thrilling match at St James' Park on Sunday.

David Moyes' side, who finished sixth in the Premier League least season, started the new campaign in impressive fashion — but not after being given a scare by the Magpies.

Newcastle — whose new £22 million ($30.4m) signing Joe Willock was watching from the stands after failing to register for his new club in time to play — took a fifth-minute lead after French attacker Allan Saint-Maximin turned Declan Rice inside out and crossed for Callum Wilson to head home his ninth goal in 11 career top-flight games against West Ham.

The Hammers deservedly levelled when Aaron Cresswell's low cross drifted across the box, evading the lunge of Tomas Soucek before Jarrod Bowen tapped in after the ball had crossed the line. An offside flag was raised against Bowen but the goal stood after consulting VAR.

Bowen had an excellent opportunity after ghosting past several Newcastle defenders only to be denied by goalkeeper Freddie Woodman on his debut.

Wilson’s cheeky backheel was kept out by Lukasz Fabianski while Miguel Almiron’s shot deflected on to the top of the crossbar as the match swung from one end of the pitch to the other.

Newcastle retook the lead five minutes before half-time when Matt Ritchie supplied a superb cross from the left that was headed home by Jacob Murphy.

But it was West Ham who took charge of the game in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Said Benrahma headed home at the back post after a fine left-footed cross by Michail Antonio.

Antonio then saw a bullet header cannon off the bar from point-blank range and ricochet back into the penalty area where Murphy then clumsily chopped down Pablo Fornals. Woodman went the right way and saved Antonio's penalty, but couldn't prevent Soucek bundling home the rebound after 63 minutes.

Three minutes later and it was four when West Ham launched another counter-attack and Antonio thumped home, equalling Paolo di Canio's record tally in the Premier League for the Hammers.

“I really enjoyed it, I thought we played well in the first half and if you come here in front of 50,000 supporters and go a goal down after three minutes, we showed a lot of character,” said West Ham manager David Moyes.

“We gave Newcastle a bit of a leg up with the goal before half-time, we did not deserve to go 2-1 behind. We kept at it, the players who performed really well last season have started well this season.”

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce admitted his side had paid the price for lapses at the back. “Defensively we've got to be better,” he said. “For me, the big turning point is the penalty.

"I know we've made a big thing of VAR, for the life of me I can't understand why the referee who is 10 yards away can't just come and check because I think he comes and checks then he thinks differently.

“It was a decent game in the first half, but defensively we have to admit we have to be better.”