Declan Rice faultless, Michail Antonio has night to forget – West Ham player ratings v Liverpool
West Ham stayed 14th in the Premier League table with a 2-1 home loss to Liverpool on Wednesday (26 April).
Lucas Paqueta opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a fantastic strike, with Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo levelling the scores just six minutes later with a fine long-range hit.
Joel Matip then fired in a bullet header in the 67th minute to complete the turnaround for the away side.
Here West Ham Zone rates the players out of ten for the loss that sees the Hammers stay involved in the tense relegation battle.
Lukasz Fabianski – 5
Will be disappointed with his efforts for Gakpo’s long-range goal, but still played an important role, making two saves and one high claim to keep his side in the match, as per SofaScore.
Vladimir Coufal – 6
Handed a tough challenge from the first whistle given the attacking threat of Diogo Jota, with that task simply increased with the second half introduction of Luis Diaz, but he did manage to win eight of his 14 duels.
Kurt Zouma – 6
Continued his impressive displays at the back with another sturdy display, but was ultimately unable to keep out Liverpool’s deadly attackers. Made a match-high six interceptions to keep the visiting attackers at bay as much as possible.
Nayef Aguerd – 7
Produced another solid display alongside partner Zouma. Stayed focused and produced a fine block from a dangerous Mohamed Salah strike, and kept the score at 2-1 with four clearances and four blocks.
Aaron Cresswell – 6
Also handed a very tough task in dealing with Mohamed Salah, but coped with the threat well. Also had a good impact going forward, linking up with Said Benrahma as well as delivering various dangerous set-pieces, with two of his three crosses being accurate.
Declan Rice – 8 (Man of the Match)
At his usual best in the heart of midfield, breaking up play and driving forward when presented with the opportunity. Covered almost every blade of grass at the London Stadium, finishing with an 85% passing accuracy and with seven of his 12 duels won.
Tomas Soucek – 6
Quietly went about his usual game, but could have hit the headlines by directing his header at goal with less than 10 minutes to go. Won five of his 10 aerial duels at both ends of the pitch.
Jarrod Bowen – 5
A threat for the home side as always, not giving Andy Roberton a minute of peace down West Ham’s right. Unfortunate to see his very well-taken goal early in the second half disallowed for offside, but not quite at his electric best in the final third. Could only complete one of his two attempted long balls.
Lucas Paqueta – 6
Continued his superb run of form by opening the scoring in the 12th minute with a stunning strike which flew past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. But the Brazilian had a somewhat quiet rest of the evening in an attacking sense, but again showed his defensive capabilities with four tackles, more than any West Ham player.
Said Benrahma – 7
Had a few chances to find the back of the net in the opening stages but couldn’t quite sort his feet in time, but made sure Trent Alexander-Arnold was kept busy all night, with his dazzling footwork often wowing the home supporters. Visibly frustrated to be substituted 70 minutes in, but can hold his head held high with seven successful dribbles from eight attempts.
Michail Antonio – 4
Tried to be a constant thorn in the side of Virgil van Dijk, exactly as he was instructed by David Moyes. Played a fine one-two with Paqueta to clinch an assist for the Brazilian’s goal. But should have found the net himself, and had the fewest number of touches (20) for any starter.
Substitutes
Danny Ings (on for Antonio, 70′) – N/A
Maxwel Cornet (on for Benrahma, 70′) – N/A