Masuaku in shocker, Benrahma superb: West Ham player ratings v Tottenham
West Ham suffered a big blow in the race for the top four after suffering a 3-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday (20 March).
The Hammers went 2-0 behind in the first half. Kurt Zouma scored an own goal while Son Heung-Min scored another in the 24th minute. Said Benrahma pulled one back for the Hammers. Son added another in the 88th minute.
The Hammers have suffered yet another defeat away from home, and West Ham Zone has rated the players out of 10 for their displays:
Lukasz Fabianski – 7
He was not at fault for both goals. In the second half, he produced a class save to deny Kane, by narrowing down the angle. He made another good save to deny Reguilon. Narrowed Kane down in a 1v1 situation, forcing the England striker to miss the target.
Kurt Zouma – 4
He was marking Son when the ball came in from the right-hand side. The ball hit him before rolling past Fabianski. While for the second goal, it can be said that Zouma could have closed Son a bit to make the angle narrow. Zouma failed to win the header as Kane provided an assist for yet another Son goal in the second half.
Craig Dawson – 7
He has always been a threat from set-pieces, and once again glided the ball into the path of Benrahama in the build-up to the goal. He was very solid at the back and made some good clearances. He made a crucial block to deny Doherty in the 80th minute.
Ben Johnson – 6
Tidy at the back. He made some good blocks on the right-hand side, managing to keep Sergio Reguilon relatively quiet. However, offered very little in terms of attacking output.
Aaron Cresswell – 6
The 32-year-old produced a fantastic delivery from the corner that led to the goal for the Hammers. He was solid at the back, and teed up well with Fornals.
Arthur Masuaku – 3
Made a silly error in the first half that led to the goal for Spurs. He lost the ball a few times in the first half, and didn’t look comfortable against incessant pressing from his side. Taken off in the 55th minute.
Manuel Lanzini – 5
Gave the impression that he was a busy man in the middle, in reality, he lost possessions way too easily many times. Improved in the second half, played out simple passes but nothing spectacular.
Said Benrahma – 8
He took his goal superbly in the first half. His confidence is high at the moment and drilled past the Spurs goalie with a fabulous striker. The composure he showed inside the box was incredible. He is our man of the match.
Tomas Soucek – 6
Tidy in midfield and kept things under control. However, he left Kane unmarked on a number of occasions and should have been tighter. Played further up the pitch in the second half, but couldn’t influence the game enough.
Declan Rice – 7
Moyes messed with the system and it prevented Rice from playing his natural game. He can’t shield both Harry Kane and Son at the same time. Kane gets past him from deep, and played out a pass leading to Son’s goal. Looked influential after the subs were made, and commanded the midfield with great aplomb.
Michail Antonio – 5
In the first half, he lacked service from his teammates and yet created a very good chance all by himself. He just couldn’t hit the target. Missed a glorious chance to score after being picked by Cresswell.
Substitutes:
Andriy Yarmolenko (on for Antonio 55′ min) – NA
Pablo Fornals (on for Masuaku 55′ min) – 6
Nikola Vlasic (on for Lanzini 83′ min) – NA
Played out a brilliant pass to Yarmolenko after coming on. Looked lively on the left-hand side, tried to engineer smart moves.
In other West Ham news, the Irons’ chances of winning the Europa League shared by a supercomputer.
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