West Ham Player Ratings vs Crystal Palace
The Hammers returned from international duty with an obvious desire to improve and they managed to pick up only their second league win of the season after Lanzini turned in Aaron Cresswell’s cross. Bilic’s men had to hold on towards the end but they can go back to East London with all 3 points and renewed confidence. Here’s how we rated them in their victory
Adrian 6
Adrian’s control of his area has completely disappeared and you can tell that the defence are nervous about him coming for balls into the box. Several times he came for a ball and did not get it, or he decided to come and then changed his mind halfway through, allowing Palace to threaten West Ham’s goal. He showed why he is our number 1 with an excellent reflex save towards the end but he needs to get better with crosses.
Antonio 7
Antonio’s role as wing back seemed to suit his style of play, giving him enough freedom to help out in the attack but also utilising his strength to prevent Palace’s wingers from putting too many balls into the box. He was not quite as effective going forward as we know he can be, but you cannot fault his work rate.
Kouyate 9 – MOTM
I have not been impressed with Kouyate’s performances so far, and the decision to move him into the centre of defence could have seriously backfired. However, he was given the task of controlling and marshalling Benteke, and nobody could have done it better. The Belgian striker barely got a look in as Kouyate used his height and strength to dominate the match and help us on the way to a clean sheet.
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Reid 8
Reid is another player who has struggled so far this season, but he also stepped up against Palace. While Kouyate controlled Benteke, Reid was on hand to deal with any other issues that came up; making a series of important blocks and clearances as the Hammers were slowly forced back in the dying minutes.
Ogbonna 7
Ogbonna was outshone by his partners at centre back, although he was still impressive. As West Ham were pushed further and further back into their own half the whole defence had to pull together, especially with just 10 men, and Ogbonna played his part well, although he made a few clumsy tackles earlier in the game.
Cresswell 7
Cresswell was incredibly unlucky to receive his marching orders after a fairly innocuous challenge that Zaha over exaggerated. He was strong at the back and controlled Zaha well while he was on the pitch, and his ball into the box for Lanzini was inch perfect. We have really missed him so far this season and it’s disappointing we’ll be without him once again next week!
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Noble 8
Noble has picked his game up in recent weeks and is once again our driving force in the middle of the park. He is leading by example, throwing himself into every challenge and supporting the side wherever he is needed. We need him to keep up this level of performance if we want to push up the table to where we really should be.
Obiang 7
Obiang was strong and solid in the centre of midfield alongside Noble. We have desperately needed some stability in midfield and the return to form of Noble alongside Obiang suggests that this will be our central midfield pairing until Kouyate shows he can manage in the middle again.
Lanzini 8
After a difficult start to the season, this was the Lanzini we know and love. He is such a skilful player and can cause the opposition so many problems, but he also has such a deft touch, as we saw when he put West Ham in the lead. He should be part of our starting line-up every week and if he plays like this we’ll soon be back in the top half.
Payet 8
Payet was his usual calm, composed self whenever he got the ball. It was not quite the masterclass we witnessed against Middlesbrough, but he was still involved in almost all of our attacking play and it does make it easier for the defence when they can give him the ball and know he’ll help alleviate the pressure.
Zaza 8
This was easily Zaza’s best performance in a West Ham shirt. The Italian has had a very slow start to life in the Premier League and he still didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet but his work rate was unbelievable today. He won a lot of aerial challenges, providing an outlet when we needed it and also flicking the ball on to the runs of Lanzini and Payet, but he also chased players back and helped out at the back. If he can start scoring, then I will be very happy to admit I was wrong about him!
Fernandes 7
Brought on to provide some fresh legs in midfield, Fernandes worked hard in the last 15 minutes to ensure we maintained the clean sheet and got the victory.
Calleri & Nordveidt – n/a
Did not play long enough for a rating.