BBC Sport pundit destroys West Ham star Alphonse Areola after Kurt Zouma incident v Sheffield United
Clinton Morrison has slammed West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola after an incident involving Kurt Zouma in the first half of the Hammers’ Premer League clash with Sheffield United.
David Moyes’ side headed into the break at 1-1 as Maxwel Cornet’s volley was cancelled out by Ben Brereton Diaz at Bramall Lane on Sunday (21 January), with the Hammers having rode their luck prior to taking the lead.
The Irons repeatedly made their own life difficult as they gave away several set pieces, including when Zouma headed Gustavo Hamer’s ball behind his own goal under no pressure having not received a shout from Aerola, much to the frustration of BBC Sport’s Morrison.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live (21 January, 14:17) he said: “So poor. Surely Areola is there, he’s got to tell him to leave it. There’s nothing behind you so just leave it. It’s difficult, he’s backpedalling Zouma.
“The communication has to be better.”
Worrying moment
It looked like an excellent finish from Cornet would make West Ham’s defensive fragility not too much of a subject of conversation during the first half at Bramall Lane prior to Brereton Diaz’s leveller and such unnecessary mistakes are becoming a regular occurrence in Moyes’ backline.
The Irons gifted Bristol City their winner during the FA Cup replay at Ashton Gate when Konstantinos Mavropanos under-hit his back pass and similarly put themselves under pressure against United as they failed to communicate with one another.
Hamer’s ball into the area was massively under-hit and carried little to no threat, but Areola’s decision to not give Zouma a shout meant that a hit-and-hope pass turned into a goalscoring chance from a corner.
United’s ineffective frontline let Moyes’ side off repeatedly in the first half and should West Ham surrender those sorts of chances to teams that are more clinical in front of goal, they will struggle to pick up points in the second half of the season.
In other West Ham news, Fabrizio Romano has shared how Arsenal reacted to the Irons approach for Emile Smith-Rowe
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