By Pranav Shahaney

3rd Sep, 2022 | 4:55pm

West Ham player ratings v Chelsea: Kurt Zouma shines against former club

Kurt Zouma shined for West Ham and they went to Stamford Bridge to put up a resolute fight against Chelsea on Saturday.

While they ended up losing 2-1, David Moyes has every right to be impressed with his side’s performances on the day.

Had it not been for the controversial ruling out of Maxwel Cornet’s goal, they surely would have got something from the game.

Here are our player ratings for the game:

Lukasz Fabianksi – 6

Conceded the goal because of the lack of co-ordination in front of him. Apart from that, it was a pretty solid game for the pole.

Vladimir Coufal – 4

Was pegged back from the start and rarely got the licence to bomb forward. He’s had better games for the club but this was one worth forgetting. Was guilty of allowing the second goal to happen.

Thilo Kehrer – 4

Has not enjoyed the best of starts to life as a West Ham player. Lost all of his attempted duels on the day and things would’ve been worse had Zouma not been there next to him.

Kurt Zouma – 8

Oozed class from start to end and did not get fazed on his return to Chelsea. Marshalled the back line pretty well and was a calm and composed presence on the ball. Did well to keep the opposition at bay.

Emerson – 6

A decent game from the Italian who’s growing into his role as first-choice for Moyes. He did not have a seamless game but is proving to be an upgrade on Aaron Cresswell.

Declan Rice – 8

A superb performance from the captain as he not only shielded the defence but was also crucial when the side were counter-attacking. His passing was also tidy and he was one of the main reasons why the Hammers were in the game for a while.

Tomas Soucek – 3

Another underwhelming performance from him and there’s a good chance that Lucas Paqueta is played deeper with Said Benrahma moving to the number 10.

Jarrod Bowen – 6

Unfortunately had to do a lot more off the ball in terms of tracking back as he would’ve liked but he still had a decent game and looked deadly on the break.

Lucas Paqueta – 7

Did incredibly well on his full debut and it seems like he’s been part of this West Ham team for a few years. Just the game changer Moyes has been looking for.

Pablo Fornals – 3

The 26-year-old was shocking in the game today and rarely tried to make anything happen. Needlessly gave the ball away on numerous occasions in what was a disappointing effort.

Michail Antonio – 5

Did his bit to put pressure on the Chelsea back line but was not rewarded for his efforts. In our view, he did enough to prove to Moyes why he deserves to start ahead of Gianluca Scamacca.

Subs

Angelo Ogbonna – 4

Said Benrahma – 5

Maxwel Cornet – 5