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5 Lessons Learned From West Ham’s First Premier League Win of the Season

By Scott Johnson

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Issa Diop of West Ham United celebrates following his sides victory in the Premier League match between Everton FC and West Ham United at Goodison Park on September 16, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Issa Diop of West Ham United celebrates following his sides victory in the Premier League match between Everton FC and West Ham United at Goodison Park on September 16, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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West Ham’s first win of the season is here! A 3-1 victory on the road at Everton is a great achievement, and one that should give Pellegrini a lot of confidence going forward.

On Pellegrini’s birthday we finally saw most of what he wants from the side. There was ball retention, trust in each other and defensive organisation. What will please Pellegrini is that the shape held, and West Ham worked well as a team.

With no Wilshere it was Rice, Obiang and Noble in the middle for the Hammers and we saw a first start in the Premier League for Yarmolenko. At the back Masuaku continued at the back with Zabaleta returning on the right. So what did fans learn from the match?

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 16: Felipe Anderson of West Ham United is challenged by Theo Walcott of Everton during the Premier League match between Everton FC and West Ham United at Goodison Park on September 16, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 16: Felipe Anderson of West Ham United is challenged by Theo Walcott of Everton during the Premier League match between Everton FC and West Ham United at Goodison Park on September 16, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) /

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Anderson is more than a ‘pace merchant’

When we looked at the released FIFA ratings last week Anderson’s pace caught the eye. It puts him as one of the fastest players of the Premier League and is certainly eyecatching. However he showed at Goodison Park that he can offer the Hammers far more than just a knock and chase winger.

According to Whoscored, Rice was the only player in Claret and Blue who made more successful tackles than the Brazilian winger for that game. He also made a single clearance and 3 interceptions during the game to help his side defensively, but it didn’t stop there.

He made more passes than any other Hammers, with a strong 76% completion rate. And they weren’t just short sideways passes either, with 3 of those (again topping the chart for the Hammers) being key passes for the side. If he could have added some dangerous shots he would have been the complete player for those 90 minutes.

Whilst there’s still more to come from the Brazilian, this was definitely the best performance he’s put in at the club. If he can keep this level up and help push the top teams we could see him easily justify his large transfer fee.