Sean Fisher

Tue 25 October 2022 21:10, UK

West Ham collected their third clean sheet of the season during Monday’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth.

West Ham weren’t at their best during the 2-0 win over the Cherries, but goals from Kurt Zouma and Said Benrahma at the end of each half were enough to claim all three points.

But David Moyes will be equally as excited by his side’s clean sheet, with the Hammers now boasting three of them in this Premier League season.

As a result, West Ham’s defensive record of conceding just 12 goals this season is only bettered by four teams in the league. Considering the Hammers have only just reached the top half of the table for the first time this campaign, that’s a very impressive feat.

Two defenders stood out against Bournemouth – goalscorer Zouma and left-back Aaron Cresswell. Zouma headed home on the brink of half-time and was resolute throughout, while Cresswell offered plenty going forward down the left and kept Ryan Christie extremely quiet.

Both were awarded very impressive WhoScored ratings as a result, with Zouma picking up an 8.0 while Cresswell was handed a 7.8. Both were therefore given a spot in the Team of the Week, as reported by Yorkshire Post.

After Nayef Aguerd was forced to the sidelines through injury, Moyes was forced to shuffle his defence around, and Vladimir Coufal’s poor form didn’t help that at all.

But it seems the Scot has finally settled on a back four, with the same defensive line playing in both the Liverpool and Bournemouth clashes.

With a new-look attack including Lucas Paqueta and Gianluca Scamacca still settling and building relationships, it was important that Moyes got his defence sorted quickly this season.

With the defensive foundations now set, West Ham can dig in and prepare for an exciting period of fixtures leading up to the World cup, which includes clashes against Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Leicester.