Manuel Lanzini scored the only goal of the game as 10-man West Ham United ended a five game winless Premier League run with victory over Crystal Palace.

Christian Benteke skied a penalty at the end of a first half in which West Ham took the lead through the Argentine’s placed finish.

The Hammer's task was made all the harder with 14 minutes remaining when Aaron Cresswell was sent off after picking up two bookings in quick succession.

A day which ended early started brightly for Cresswell as he made his first appearance of the season.

The 26-year-old was expected to be side-lined for a further month due to a serious knee injury picked up in pre-season which curtailed the progress he made last term.

His inclusion was one of three changes made by Slaven Bilic as he looked to spark an upturn in form and arrest his side’s slide down the Premier League table.

Much-criticised summer signing Simone Zaza was given a start, while Lanzini also returned to the starting XI.

Playing as a left wing-back, Cresswell offered a taste of the sort of incisive running West Ham have missed in his absence inside four minutes.

After Wilfried Zaha failed to track his marauding run, Cresswell controlled smartly before driving forward and hitting a rasping drive into the side netting from 18 yards.

Zaha was afforded the same luxury moments later but was equally profligate with his finish as he dragged his right footed shot harmlessly wide.

Dimitri Payet was a peripheral figure in the opening exchanges but came to the fore for the winning goal in the 19th minute.

The Frenchman exchanged a number of neat passes before releasing the ever available Cresswell on the left.

His low cross bypassed the Palace defence and skipped up invitingly off the rain soaked surface for the unmarked Lanzini to guide into the far corner from six yards.

Cresswell’s willingness to get forward at every occasion was mirrored by Michail Antonio on the right as the 5-3-2 formation employed by Bilic proved productive.

The hosts mustered little in response to going behind until a breathless close to the half which saw Benteke squander a golden chance to level from the spot.

A loose touch from Zaha allowed the ball to break to the Belgian striker in the box and his touch took him away from the committed Angelo Ogbonna who tripped the forward.

After dusting himself off, Benteke lazily strode forward and, despite sending Adrian the wrong way, planted his effort over the bar.

It was a finish which belied the confidence of a striker who came into the match having notched three goals in his last three league appearances.

To the former Liverpool man’s credit, he almost redeemed himself in the minute of stoppage time which followed by attacking a deep cross and heading against the post for the final action of the half.

Alan Pardew moved to shake up his side at half time with the introduction of Yohan Cabaye and Zeki Fryers for the ineffectual Joe Ledley and Martin Kelly.

The Hammers started the half in the ascendancy though and Lanzini linked up well with Zaza to burst through the Palace defence.

A heavy touch meant he had to set the ball back for Payet inside the box and his curling effort was well charged down by Steve Mandanda.

The save marked a turning in the tide as palace began to exert greater pressure and enjoyed their best spell of the game just after the hour mark.

Both Zaha and Andros Townsend began to get on the ball more, but while they were penetrative with their runs, both struggled to find an end product.

There cause was given renewed optimism on 70 minutes as Cresswell was given his marching orders for picking up two yellow cards in the space of a minute.

The first booking came after he was adjudged to have dived under a challenge from Cabaye before he checked the progress of Zaha on the right wing.

Both could be considered soft bookings but the second looked particularly harsh as Cresswell made minimal contact in a shoulder to shoulder challenge.

They struggled to make their numerical advantage count and looked bereft of ideas in the attacking third until the closing stages.

Benteke had a great chance to claim a share of the spoils with nine minutes remaining after Adrian failed to claim a whipped cross from the right.

The Palace forward rose powerfully to connect with a strong header but his effort went just over from close range.

Still Palace pushed forward and it took a point blank save from Adrian to deny Connor Wickham’s header and ensure the Hammers claimed a win which takes them out of the relegation zone.

Crystal Palace: Mandanda; Ward, Tomkins, Delaney (c), Kelly (Fryers HT), Ledley (Cabaye HT), McArthur (Wickham 70), Zaha, Puncheon, Townsend, Benteke

Subs not used: Hennessey, Campbell, Lee, Sako

West Ham: Adrian; Antonio, Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Noble, Obiang, Lanzini (Nordtveit 88), Payet (Fernandes 78), Zaza (Calleri 85)

Subs not used: Spiegiel, Feghouli, Collins, Fletcher

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Bookings: Noble (21 foul on Townsend), Benteke (48 foul on Reid), Ogbona (62 foul on Zaha), Cresswell (sent off 78 diving and foul on Zaha)

Attendance: 25,643