West Ham overturned Premier League title hopefuls Manchester United 2-1 at Upton Park thanks to two late goals from Anton Ferdinand and Matthew Upson.
The result means Arsenal will have a chance to leapfrog the league leaders with a win away to Everton this evening.
Former Hammer Carlos Tevez was given an affectionate welcome by the Upton Park faithful after his heroics at the end of last season for Alan Curbishley’s side.
The Argentinean swapped a relegation dogfight for a title battle over the summer but it was the home side who should have been ahead after eight minutes.
Hayden Mullins crashed a close-range change into the woodwork before England under-21 international Mark Noble slashed the subsequent rebound well wide.
United pulled themselves together after the early scare and Cristiano Ronaldo’s remarkable scoring run continued as they went ahead after 14 minutes.
The Portuguese winger nodded in his 13th league goal from Ryan Giggs’ cross to put Sir Alex Ferguson’s side into an early lead.
West Ham refused to be bowed by falling behind however and their harrying and harassing kept them in the game as United were forced into a scrap for superiority.
The hosts could easily have been level at the break as Carlton Cole’s header cleared the bar when it should have demanded at least a save from Tomasz Kuszczak.
A handball from United old boy Jonathan Spector seemed to signal an end to the Hammers’ resistance, but Ronaldo’s confident penalty skimmed wide of the post to maintain the tension.
An enthralling match was given a remarkable climax as West Ham repeated their victory in the fixture last season with a pair of late goals.
Anton Ferdinand climbed to head home a corner and restore parity with ten minutes remaining, before his defensive partner Matthew Upson followed suit four minutes later.
Noble’s inviting free-kick caught the United rearguard on its heels and the former Arsenal player planted his header into the top corner to cue pandemonium in the stands
