Daniel Lewis

Tue 2 January 2024 21:40, UK

West Ham United were held to a goalless draw at home to Brighton and Hove Albion in Tuesday’s (2 January) Premier League contest.

The borefest at London Stadium was devoid of any major talking points as the sides shared the spoils, meaning West Ham stay in sixth place.

David Moyes was without Mohammed Kudus (AFCON duty) and Lucas Paqueta (injured) – which certainly told – while Vladimir Coufal missed his first league game of the season through illness.

West Ham Zone has rated each home player out of 10 for their performance against Brighton, using data via Sofascore.

Alphonse Areola – 8/10

Made decent stops in either half, although the quality of some of Brighton’s finishing must also be questioned. Will rightly be delighted with another clean sheet, with West Ham proving extremely tough to break down at the moment.

Ben Johnson – 7/10

Handed a first league start of the season, and just a second appearance overall, in the absence of previously ever-present Coufal. Had plenty of touches, but he could not find a team-mate from crosses and was involved in some nervy moments. Still, this was a rare outing and he played his part in a welcome clean sheet.

Dinos Mavropanos – 8/10

A very solid evening in the heart of defence, leading the way among West Ham players for clearances (six), while no player managed more interceptions (two).

Angelo Ogbonna – 8/10

Like Mavropanos, Ogbonna can hold his head high. Did not do much – if anything – wrong and will take confidence from the shutout, while on three of his 42 passes went astray as he helped play out from the back.

Emerson Palmieri – 7/10

Guilty of a poor miss in the first half and that was pretty much his biggest involvement in the match in an attacking sense. Did register four clearances, though, and managed to keep Brighton’s wide players quiet enough, so deserves credit.

Edson Alvarez – 7/10

Far too slow to close down Brighton’s players in the second half and was made to look silly on one occasion. However, he stood out in the first half and did make a team-high seven tackles.

Tomas Soucek – 5/10

Missed a great chance in the second half when prodding wide from close range. Was also guilty of giving the ball away on too many occasions, and was not as involved as he often is. The miss was ultimately the lasting memory of his performance.

Pablo Fornals – 3/10

Huffed and puffed but did not come close to blowing the house down. Unsuccessful from his only attempt and could not help break down a Brighton defence that had not kept a clean sheet all season.

James Ward-Prowse – 6/10

Put in one or two good deliveries, but even that was below his usual standards. Did manage to get one shot on target, which is more than can be said about all but one other team-mate. Not at his creative best by any means, but certainly not West Ham’s worst performer on the day and barely misplaced a pass.

Said Benrahma – 5/10 (off for Said Benrahma 73′)

Showed what he is capable of when on it with his attempt in the first half as he got at the Brighton defenders, but those moments were few and far between. Ultimately did not make a telling impact in the absence of Paqueta and Kudus, though, with just one successful dribble to his name and no shots on target, let alone a goal or assist.

Jarrod Bowen – 4/10

Hit the post in the first half, although he would have been denied by the offside flag anyway. This was one of Bowen’s most ineffective performances of the season, in which he failed to register any legitimate shots and did not complete any dribbles. In his defence, he did plenty of closing down and was far too isolated up top.

SUBS

Divin Mubama (on for Said Benrahma 73′) – 3/10

Had just four touches of the ball in a little over 20 minutes on the field, which unsurprisingly equated to zero shots or chances created. Could barely tell he was on the field, although in fairness West Ham did a lot of defending after he came on.

In other West Ham news, a player is now on the verge of departing London Stadium.