West Ham ‘vulnerability’ on show for all to see after what happened vs QPR
West Ham once again struggled as they faced Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.
The London Stadium played host to the FA Cup clash, and West Ham secured a 2-1 win against QPR to make their way to the fourth round.
Nuno Espirito Santo operated with a back five against QPR in a call that had the claret and blue faithful largely frustrated before kick-off.
There was little positive to speak of in the first half as Konstantinos Mavropanos’ hoofed clearance summed up West Ham for the most part.
The R’s clearly knew how to get at the Irons and were able to cause problems for Nuno’s men, particularly from set-pieces.
QPR caused set-piece problems for West Ham
West Ham lost to Nottingham Forest last time out and conceded from a corner before Morgan Gibbs-White netted the winner from the penalty spot.
That performance summed up the Hammers’ showings in recent weeks, with the second 45 being particularly frustrating for the home side.
It was a similar story in the FA Cup tie, with defending set-pieces causing further issues for the hosts, even with Mads Hermansen in for Alphonse Areola.
Julien Stephan obviously saw this as a weakness and aimed to land crosses on top of the keeper, and it so nearly resulted in a first-half goal.
Rayan Kolli found himself free inside the box and aimed his back-post header wide, spurning an excellent chance for the R’s.
Former Celtic and Brighton defender Adam Virgo couldn’t believe what he was seeing from the Irons as he hit out at their defensive shape on the FA Cup world feed.
He said: “A header across goal would have been a better option, but look at the space and time he’s got at the far post. It just shows the vulnerability of where West Ham are at defensively from set plays.
“Look at how many West Ham players are back in the six-yard box. If he [Kolli] had a better awareness of where he was, it could have been a lot worse for West Ham.“
Set-piece failures will get West Ham relegated
The Hammers looked doomed for relegation from the Premier League, with moments against the Championship side proving why.
QPR sit 11th in the Championship and have been hugely inconsistent this season, but they were still able to cause problems for the East London side.
That won’t come as a surprise to anyone associated with the London Stadium club, based on week after week of defensive struggles in the Premier League relegation battle.
The Irons have seriously struggled from set-pieces and did so against QPR, something that is bound to continue into the rest of the season.
If that is the case, Nuno, or whoever replaces him, is bound to taste a drop down to the Championship, ready for next season.
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