West Ham player ratings v Everton – Paqueta shows class, 3/10 new signing terrible
West Ham got back to winning ways as they came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 in a pre-season friendly on Thursday (31 July).
Graham Potter‘s side faced the Toffees as part of the Premier League Summer Series and got off to an awful start as Wes Foderingham allowed a shot from Idrissa Gueye to squeeze under him.
The Hammers replied just before half-time as the returning Lucas Paqueta capitalised on Everton’s own goalkeeping error to poke home an equaliser.
Niclas Fullkrug entered the pitch at the break to score the winner with a well-taken shot and put the Irons back in the running for the pre-season trophy after losing to Manchester United on Sunday (27 July).
Potter will be pleased with the result, but especially the dominant performance, as West Ham Zone rates every player’s performance out of 10.
Paqueta marks return to starting lineup with MOTM display
Much has been made about what the future holds for Paqueta on the back of a poor season in East London marred by the threat of a possible suspension for betting charges.
Potter is already preparing for life without the playmaker, but was duly reminded of the Brazilian’s unique qualities at Soldier Field in Chicago against Everton.
The attacking midfielder showed touches of class throughout before capitalising on a calamitous mistake from Mark Travers to score into an empty net.
The goalscorer then turned provider as Paqueta made a tackle in midfield before laying the ball off to Fullkrug, who clinically dispatched the finish.
All of West Ham’s best moments came through the 27-year-old, who was given the longest runout of an outfield player and left the field to warm applause.
With Paqueta’s off-field issues now over, his manager may think twice about selling the mercurial talent, especially after his 8/10 performance in the Windy City.
El Hadji Malick Diouf flatters to deceive
There was a lot of excitement around El Hadji Malick Diouf’s debut in pre-season against Grasshoppers (19 July) after the wide player’s £19million arrival from Slavia Prague.
However, the Senegal international followed that up with a muted performance against United before really struggling against David Moyes’ side.
Diouf rarely got on the ball, despite the Hammers dominating possession, and was very wasteful when he was given the opportunities to get involved in the play.
The 20-year-old was also dominated physically, coming off second best in the majority of his duels, and looked a somewhat isolated figure before coming off at half-time.
Potter will not panic, as inconsistency is to be expected from a young player arriving from a foreign league, but West Ham fans will hope his 3/10 performance was a mere blip rather than a sign of things to come.
West Ham player ratings against Everton
Wes Foderingham – 4/10
Kyle Walker-Peters – 4/10
Max Kilman – 6/10
Kaelan Casey – 5/10
Konstantinos Mavrapranos – 5/10
James Ward-Prowse – 5/10
Freddie Potts – 6/10
Andrew Irving – 6/10
El Hadji Malick Diouf – 3/10
Lucas Paqueta – 8/10
Callum Marshall – 7/10
Substitutes
Nayef Aguerd – 5/10
Jean-Clair Todibo – 5/10
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6/10
Guido Rodriguez – 5/10
Luis Guilherme – 7/10
Jarrod Bowen – 6/10
Niclas Fullkrug – 7/10
Thomas Soucek – 6/10
Ollie Scarles – N/A
Lewis Orford – N/A
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