Mads Hermansen shambolic, Jarrod Bowen hapless – West Ham player ratings vs Liverpool
West Ham were beaten 5-2 by Liverpool in a seven-goal thriller at Anfield on Saturday.
Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side came into the clash with Liverpool off the back of just one defeat in their last six Premier League games, with survival hopes firmly reignited as such.
West Ham knew that a win, as tough as that was always going to be, against Liverpool on Saturday would be enough to see them move out of the relegation zone, with Nottingham Forest away to Brighton on Sunday.
Alas, that wasn’t to be the case, as the Hammers suffered defeat at the hands of Arne Slot’s side, who pretty much had the game won by half-time.
The frustration from West Ham’s point of view is that they didn’t actually perform that bad, and the 5-2 scoreline certainly flatters Liverpool, as a mix of deflected goals and poor goalkeeping won them the day.
Mads Hermansen ends West Ham goalkeeper debate v Liverpool
Nuno has given Mads Hermansen the nod in goal over Alphonse Areola for the four Premier League games, following the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea on 31 January.
Areola’s performances in between the sticks this season has seen him cut a divisive figure, with some feeling as though he deserved to be dropped, whilst others believed he remained the best option.
Unfortunately for Hermansen, he’s not strengthened his case for keeping the starting gloves with his performance against Liverpool, and probably only cemented Areola’s further.
As detailed in the above graphic from Sofascore, the 25-year-old endured a nightmare first-half performance at Anfield, shipping three soft goals, all of which came from corners.
He was beaten far too easily at his near post for the opening goal of the afternoon from Hugo Ekitike, after Hammers defenders passed up a number of opportunities to clear their lines.
The Hammers keeper was then rooted to his goal line after tussling with Joe Gomez, as Virgil van Dijk’s header sailed into the far corner of the net.
It was three just before half-time, after Hermansen was unable to stretch out a long enough arm to deny Alex Mac Allister’s well-struck volley from hitting the back of the net from 12 yards.
- This was West Ham’s first defeat since losing to Chelsea on 31 January
- They remain two points behind Nottingham Forest
- West Ham’s next game is away to Fulham on Wednesday night
Cody Gakpo put the game beyond any doubt with 20 minutes to play, as his deflected effort squirmed past Hermansen and into the bottom corner to make it 4-1.
Hermansen then conceded a fifth on 82 minutes, after Axel Disasi turned the ball into his own net, leaving the Hammers goalkeeper helpless to prevent this one.
Jarrod Bowen did his best to prevent West Ham loss v Liverpool
However, West Ham were handed a lifeline in the game just four minutes into the second-half, as Tomas Soucek turned in an excellent driven cross into the six-yard box from Malick Diouf.
Liverpool looked to have put the game beyond doubt on 70 minutes with the aforementioned Gakpo goal, but the Hammers struck back again five minutes later.
An inswinging corner from Jarrod Bowen found an unmarked Taty Castellanos on the back post, and the Argentine nodded home for 4-2.
Liverpool were able to see out the remainder of the game for three points though after Axel Disasi’s own goal, but it was Bowen, who as he so often is, who was West Ham’s most positive attacking outlet all game.
The 29-year-old grabbed an assist, created a handful of openings for his teammates, won the majority of his individual duels and was a constant presence in defence too, winning the ball back many times and launching attacks.
West Ham player ratings vs Liverpool
Mads Hermansen – 4
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 4
Axel Disasi – 4
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5
Malick Diouf – 7
Soungoutou Magassa – 5
Tomas Soucek – 7
Mateus Fernandes – 6
Jarrod Bowen – 8
Crysencio Summerville – 6
Taty Castellanos – 7
Subs
Adama Traore (for Soungoutou Magassa, 76) – 5
Mohamadou Kante (for Tomas Soucek, 90) – N/A
Ezra Mayers (for Malick Diouf, 90) – N/A
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