Pablo struggles to make his mark, Mateus Fernandes fantastic – West Ham player ratings vs Brentford
West Ham went through in the FA Cup after beating Brentford on penalties after a 2-2 draw on Monday evening.
Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side were the better team, and that paid off when Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring after 19 minutes.
Igor Thiago equalised nine minutes later, but the West Ham skipper fired the hosts ahead from the penalty spot in the 34th minute at the London Stadium on 9 March.
The Bees were awarded a penalty with 11 minutes left after Crysencio Summerville pushed Michael Kayode in the penalty area, and Thiago equalised from the spot.
The Hammers are into the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2015-16 season after keeping their cool in the shootout, and they will face Leeds United as the draw was made before the clash.
Pablo dismal on West Ham return
Pablo returned to the Hammers starting line-up in a surprising development, as he was expected to miss out through injury.
However, it was not a positive comeback for the Brazilian forward as he struggled to make the required impact in the clash and could not make his mark.
He recorded one shot, made no key passes and completed 74 per cent of his overall pass attempts, per Sofascore, in an underwhelming showing.
He had 31 touches, with just two coming in the opposition box and gave the ball away 10 times, which did not help his side retain possession.
Defensively, he was dismal, winning one of the four ground duels that he attempted, and he was not much better in the air, winning three out of 10 duels that he contested.
He was replaced by Taty Castellanos after 60 minutes, which was the right move, as the 22-year-old was clearly still not fully match fit.
Mateus Fernandes stars as West Ham reach FA Cup quarter finals
Mateus Fernandes was the standout man despite Jarrod Bowen’s double, as the 21-year-old showed exactly why the Irons forked out £42million on him in the summer with a fantastic display.
The Portuguese star made four key passes and completed 89 per cent of his passes attempts, per Sofascore, in an assured display in the number 10 role.
He boasted an 85 per cent pass accuracy in the opposition half, and a 96 per cent ratio in his own half, showing how comfortable he is on the ball.
The young maestro had 78 touches but only gave possession away nine times in the contest, while also making 12 carries for a total distance of 121.1m
He made six defensive contributions, winning three of the four tackles that he contested and also making one clearance and five recoveries.
He also won five of the six ground duels that attempted, in a battling performance.
It is vital that he continues in this vein of form going forward, as that could be the difference between the E20 outfit staying in the Premier League or going down.
He was eventually replaced by Callum Wilson for the second-half of extra time.
How West Ham players rated vs Brentford
Alphonse Areola – 6
Kyle Walker-Peters – 5 (off for Wan-Bissaka, 91)
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 6
Axel Disasi – 6
Ollie Scarles – 6 (off for Mayers, 46)
Tomas Soucek – 6
Matheus Fernandes – 8 (off for Wilson, 106)
Mohamadou Kante – 6 (off for Magassa, 76)
Jarrod Bowen – 7
Pablo – 4 (off for Castellanos, 60)
Adama Traore – 7 (off for Summerville, 46)
Substitutes:
Ezra Mayers – 6
Crysencio Summerville – 6
Taty Castellanos – 5
Soungoutou Magassa – 5
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 5
Callum Wilson – 5
For more West Ham news, check out Football Insider for the latest updates and views.