Paqueta a disgrace, Areola gets credit – West Ham player ratings v Liverpool
West Ham fell to a devastating 5-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday evening with Julen Lopetegui surely walking towards the sack.
Lopetegui only has himself to blame for yet another dire display as the Irons were brushed aside by the league leaders at the London Stadium on 29 December.
If Manchester United avoid defeat against Newcastle on 30 December, the Hammers will drop down to 14th in the table and the immediate future of Lopetegui will once again come under scrutiny.
West Ham Zone rated the performance of each player in the defeat to Liverpool.
Alphonse Areola gets credit in the bank for West Ham performance
Alphonse Areola – 7
Areola was the only reason the score remained in single digits with a series of impressive saves denying the visitors in what was a relentless onslaught of the West Ham goal although he did concede five.
Vladimir Coufal (45′ off for Todibo) – 4
Coufal had little to no impact in the game but failed to win any of his defensive duels while completing a woeful seven passes in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch (FotMob).
Max Kilman – 4
Did little wrong in the game but was part of the defence that was carved open far too easily on several occasions with his ‘keeper to thank for sparring the Irons blushes any further.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 4
Possibly one of his better performances for West Ham this season and was unfortunate to see his attempted block deflected for Liverpool’s fourth but again, didn’t offer too much security for Areola.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 5
Constantly looked to get forward for the Hammers but a distinct lack of quality on show around him made it difficult for him to impact the game but was solid more often than not.
Emerson – 4
Lopetegui is largely to blame for a dismal showing from Emerson given the unnatural position he was forced to play, he offered no attacking threat in the clash.
Edson Alvarez – (45′ off for Fullkrug) – 5
His role in the side became largely redundant given Liverpool’s relentlessness going forward but he kept things simple in midfield until his halftime withdrawal.
Lucas Paqueta – 3
Similar to Alvarez, the game wasn’t lost in midfield but his individual performance was woeful in all areas of the pitch and it would be no surprise to see him dropped for their next fixture.
Carlos Soler – (73′ off for Irving) – 4
It was his error that led to one of Liverpool’s many goals of the night and his all-round performance was again just painfully average.
Mohammed Kudus – (80′ for Guilherme) – 6
Looked to be the Irons’ only attacking outlet but once again, a lack of quality around him limited how much he could actually influence the game having hit the woodwork twice.
Jarrod Bowen – (58′ for Summerville) – 4
Bowen’s best performances come from wide areas and his inclusion in a central role completely negates his main attributes as he struggled to get involved against Liverpool.
Substitutions
Niclas Fullkrug (45′ for Alvarez) – 4
Had no impact after his introduction.
Jean-Clair Todibo (45′ for Coufal) – 3
His first involvement after coming on was a laboured walk back to the defensive line which nearly gifted Mohammed Salah another goal with a failure to add defensive solidity afterwards.
Crysencio Summerville (58′ for Bowen) – 6
Tried to make things happen after coming on and looked lively but to no prevail.
Andy Irving (72′ for Soler) – N/A
Came on with the game dead and buried
Luis Guilherme (80′ for Kudus) – N/A
Had no time to impact the game.
In other West Ham news, one Irons star received a place in Darren Bent’s Team of the Season so far.
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