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West Ham United man Vladimir Coufal isolated in ‘difficult match’ against Manchester City
West Ham man Vladimir Coufal had a “difficult match” in his club’s 3-1 loss to Manchester City, according to journalist Alex Keble.
The right-back was left isolated against City star Jeremy Doku in the clash at the London Stadium on Saturday (16 September), Keble added.
The Czech Republic international started and played 87 minutes in the match before being replaced by fellow defender Thilo Kehrer.
“West Ham’s low block is very difficult to pick apart with delicate passing,” Keble wrote for the official Premier League website.
“Sometimes the best thing to do is isolate a full-back and run directly at them, which is what Doku did at the London Stadium throughout the 90 minutes. He amassed more progressive carries and attempted take-ons than anyone else on the pitch, with 13 and nine respectively.
“Vladimir Coufal had a difficult match, although West Ham managed to hold out until Guardiola’s second-half tactical switch.”
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Really tough test
The Hammers right-back really was kept very busy throughout his time on the pitch, which was perhaps unsurprising given the quality of opposition that he was up against.
It was a lottery regarding which Manchester City star he would be facing, with the likes of Doku, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden all able to play that role under Pep Guardiola.
And it was the summer signing that he was tasked with marking, which proved to be a very difficult task, with his man scoring for the visitors in the 46th minute.
Perhaps it was a lack of concentration that allowed the winger to find the back of the net, or indeed it was fatigue after a determined first half display from the Czech international.
Coufal did do his best, however, to get forward, and he did that excellently in the 36th minute as he whipped in a superb cross for James Ward-Prowse, whose header opened the scoring.
In other West Ham news, a BBC journalist was blown away by a “simply awesome” Hammers ace in the loss against Manchester City.