Forget Konstantinos Mavropanos, another West Ham star was even worse vs Aston Villa
West Ham’s defensive woes continued during their Premier League defeat against Aston Villa.
Despite taking the lead twice through Mateus Fernandes and Jarrod Bowen, West Ham were beaten 3-2 by Aston Villa after Morgan Rogers scored a brace.
It was the Hammers’ ninth defeat in 16 top-flight matches, conceding 32 goals in the process, with Konstantinos Mavropanos enduring a tough afternoon at the London Stadium.
Mavropanos scored an own goal after Ollie Watkins’ header deflected off him, and was then at fault for Rogers’ first as the Greek international lost him in the box.
Unfortunately, the 28-year-old wasn’t alone in his struggles against Villa, as one of his teammates was arguably worse.
El Hadji Malick Diouf was poor against Aston Villa
El Hadji Malick Diouf has been solid for West Ham since joining from Slavia Prague in the summer, but the 20-year-old has often been exposed defensively.
That was the case on Sunday afternoon, as the Senegalese full-back won just three of his eight ground duels, committed two fouls and lost possession nine times.
| El-Hadji Malick Diouf’s stats vs Aston Villa |
| 90 minutes played |
| 3/8 ground duels won |
| 1/2 tackles won |
| 9 times possession lost |
| 2 fouls |
| 0 accurate crosses |
Diouf’s shortcomings were partly down to him playing in a four-man defence when he’s better suited to playing as a wing back, but also the attacking qualities of Matty Cash and John McGinn.
The youngster was equally ineffective in possession, as he failed to put a single accurate cross into the box and made zero key passes.
It summed up a disappointing performance for Diouf, who played his final game for West Ham before jetting off to AFCON with Senegal.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s solution to Diouf’s absence
Diouf has established himself as the Hammers’ first-choice left-back, but Nuno Espirito Santo has a few options to replace him.
West Ham’s summer signing Kyle Walker-Peters can fill in on the left side of defence, whilst Ollie Scarles returned to the bench against Villa after recovering from a broken collarbone.
Walker-Peters is the more experienced of the duo, though the Englishman will likely fill in while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is away for AFCON too, and that could mean Scarles gets the nod.
Scarles has looked solid since emerging in the first team, and 20-year-old is arguably better defensively than Diouf.
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