Sam Stone

Sun 23 April 2023 15:48, UK

West Ham United continued their impressive recent form with a dominant 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

First-half goals from Michail Antonio, Lucas Paqueta and Declan Rice put David Moyes’ side in complete control against Gary O’Neil’s side.

A spectacular Pablo Fornals effort completed the scoring to take the Hammers six points clear of the relegation zone and up to 13th place.

Here West Ham Zone rates the players out of ten for their performances on Sunday afternoon (23 April).

Łukasz Fabiański – 7

Made some really important stops in the first half to keep West Ham in control. Had one of these gone in it could have been a very different game. Dependable as always.

Vladimir Coufal – 7

One of Coufal’s best displays of the season. The right-back was constantly up and down the flank and produced a delightful cross for Paqueta to head home. We’ve missed this version of Coufal all season so it’s good to finally have him back.

Kurt Zouma – 8

Made an absolutely huge block to deny Bournemouth a route back into the game during the first half. Composed on the ball and snuffed out attacks brilliantly. Hitting form at the perfect time for Moyes’ men.

Nayef Aguerd – 7

Looked back to his authoritative best after a shaky performance against Newcastle and missing the Arsenal game through injury. Bournemouth have some tricky attackers, but the Moroccan stood up to the task extremely well for the most part. Saw his full range of passing at times.

Aaron Cresswell – 6

Good return to the side for the 33-year-old defender, who managed to register an assist. Did what was asked of him defensively and produced some excellent deliveries from wide areas.

Declan Rice – 8

Thunderbold of a finish to put the Hammers in an unassailable 3-0 lead. The 24-year-old once again understood the importance of his role and made life hard for the Cherries’ ball players. He breaks up play so well and allows West Ham to enjoy sustained periods of possession.

Tomas Soucek – 7

This a timely reminder of what Soucek is capable of. He rarely lost the ball and looked back to his old self alongside Rice in the centre of the park.

Jarrod Bowen – 8

Bowen’s good form continued on the South Coast. He was a constant bright spark and managed to register an assist for Pablo Fornals in the second half. His direct running caused the home side plenty of issues.

Lucas Paqueta – 8 (Man of the match)

Probably the Hammers’ man of the match and produced a towering header to double the Irons’ lead in the first half. Looked to get on the ball as much as possible and when given the chance, he hurt the home side with some clever passes and movement. We are finally starting to see the best of the Brazilian.

Michail Antonio – 6

Antonio continued his goalscoring form with a powerful header. The frontman also held the ball up relatively well and was a presence for Bournemouth’s defence to deal with. Worked tirelessly.

Said Benrahma – 4

Considering how impressive West Ham were going forward, it was a fairly quiet performance from Benrahma, who will be disappointed not to have registered an attacking contribution. He certainly worked hard, but the ball was often played to Bowen and Paqueta instead of the Algerian. Had two good chances in the second half which he passed up. Wasteful display.

Substitutes

Danny Ings (on for Antonio, 65′) – 5

Pablo Fornals (on for Benrahma, 65′) – 7

Maxwel Cornet (on for Bowen, 76′) – 5

Flynn Downes (on for Paqueta, 76′) -5