Vladimir Coufal ‘strange’ moment baffles in West Ham defeat v Manchester City
Michael Brown was caught off-guard by Vladimir Coufal’s defence against Savinho during Manchester City’s 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday.
The 32-year-old right-back was torn apart by the young Brazilian, who notched two assists for half of Man City’s goals at the Etihad Stadium on 4 January, making Coufal look like a fool.
He was clearly struggling to keep track of City’s winger, even having an own goal go down next to his name after one of Savinho’s crosses deflected off the full-back at the Etihad Stadium on 4 January.
Reacting to the lead-up to Erling Haaland’s first goal via beIN Sports [4 January, 3:42pm], Brown said: “The switch of play is good initially. From there on, do you go tight or wait? It’s a little bit of a strange push there.
“Once he gets to the other side, the early ball does it. It takes everyone out of the game – Kilman, Areola, right round the back. It’s a simple one because it’s such a quality ball.”
Vladimir Coufal struggles in West Ham defeat v Manchester City
With Emerson unavailable for the trip to Manchester, it was always going to be tricky for Coufal to go up against one of the trickiest wingers in the division, even if Man City are out of form.
It would have made much more sense to have Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the right side, one of the best one-on-one defenders in the league, but Aaron Creswell will not have done any better.
Following that crushing defeat, Lopetegui must be right on the edge of the plank at the London Stadium, though it remains to be seen if David Sullivan has what it takes to admit he was wrong with the appointment.
Currently, only three teams in the division have conceded more goals than the Hammers at this point in the campaign, which is just not good enough for a team of this calibre.
Tim Steidten was able to add a number of exciting teams to the squad during the summer transfer window, but with Lopetegui at the helm, there have been few positives to show for it.
In other West Ham news, Andy Gray reacted to what “shocking” thing Richard Keys did against Manchester City.
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