Mohammed Kudus stuns with 10/10 performance, Mavropanos struggles with 5/10 – West Ham United player ratings v Freiburg
West Ham United fought back from a first leg defeat to claim their spot in the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to a dominant 5-0 win over Freiburg at the London Stadium.
The Hammers levelled the aggregate score through Lucas Paqueta inside ten minutes when he tapped in from two yards out, before Jarrod Bowen struck from outside the box with a powerful left-footed shot just after the half-hour mark.
Moyes’ side started the second half brightly too when veteran Aaron Cresswell picked up a loose ball in the box and fired a strike in the off the post to make it 3-0.
Mohammed Kudus then stole the show with a stunning solo goal, dribbling from his own half and beating three players before slotting into the bottom corner to make it 4-0, before a powerful strike with five minutes remaining made it 5-0.
Here is how West Ham Zone rated the performance of each Hammers player during the game.
Lukasz Fabianski – 6/10
The veteran goalkeeper stepped in for his customary cup role and did as well as expected. He commanded his area well, claimed crosses when he needed to and his distribution was tidy. The perfect number two.
Vladimir Coufal – 6/10
Coufal has won his place back as the first-choice right-back this season and it was another solid performance from the Czech international. Was an engine up and down the flank but a bit wasteful in the final third.
Kurt Zouma – 7/10
The skipper came back into the side ahead of Nayef Aguerd and the team immediately looked more solid. Brilliant aerially to shut down Freiburg’s main source of attack and led the team from the first minute.
Dinos Mavropanos – 5/10
The Greek giant once again struggled in the game after coming into the side, with a few shaky moments in the first half. He still looks like he’s adapting to the West Ham way, but needs to be more assertive to become a regular in Moyes’ side.
Aaron Cresswell giving David Moyes headaches
Aaron Cresswell – 9/10
There’s an argument that Cresswell was only in the team because Emerson is injured, but the veteran has given the manager a real headache after this performance. His crossing was sensational in the first half, his defending was solid down the flank and he topped it off with a goal.
Tomas Soucek – 7/10
Often a scapegoat in midfield because of his less-than-aesthetically pleasing style, but Soucek was as effective as ever in this game. Once again dominant aerially, used his energy to press well and just as reliable as ever.
Edson Alvarez – 7/10
West Ham looked so much better off the ball with the Mexican general in the side, patrolling the defence and keeping the ball away from their own goal. A bad tackle in the second half means he is suspended for the first leg of the next game in Europe, but another top performance.
Jarrod Bowen – 8/10
The player of the season so far and another top class performance from Bowen. He looked back to his best in his natural position on the right and caused the Freiburg defenders problems all night. A brilliant strike to make it 18 goals for the season. What a way to celebrate an England call up.
Lucas Paqueta – 8/10
A fantastic performance from the Brazilian magician once again. His great technique was on show with some creativity, and his determination was on show for his goal that got the wheels in motion. A superstar.
Mohammed Kudus – World Class for West Ham
Mohammed Kudus – 10/10
A world class performance from a top class footballer. Kudus’ dribbling was electric all night and his first goal was arguably the best one the London Stadium has seen. Always positive, always direct, always working hard. A dream signing and a magnificent performance.
Michail Antonio – 8/10
Antonio’s presence has been missed all season up front, and it showed more in this game when he was there. The Jamaican ran the defence ragged by floating out wide and linking with the playmakers behind him, and showed that if fit he could be a huge player in the run-in.
SUBSTITUTES
James Ward-Prowse – 5/10
George Earthy – N/A
Danny Ings – N/A
Kalvin Phillips – N/A
In other West Ham news, the Hammers were named as a new £100m transfer development emerged.
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