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

Diop and Balbuena is the way forward

If the midfield has been under criticism from pundits, then the obvious glaring issue has been the defence. It’s been leaky for the last month, and it didn’t seem capable of dealing with Pellegrini’s enforced high line. However against Everton, apart from letting a few too many crosses come in, the defence looked much better. They must persist with Balbuena and Diop in the middle.

Both of these players are decent on the ball and, now they seem a bit more up to pace with the league, are capable of being strong in the challenge and aerially. But what puts them above Ogbonna, for me, is their pace on the turn.

When playing a high line the centrebacks will, inevitably, have to make a turning sprint towards their goal at some point in the game. Ogbonna isn’t awfully slow, but his acceleration isn’t there when he’s not expecting it. Diop and Balbuena react well to issues and can chase back whilst keeping a decent line. This will be on show in the next couple of weeks against the big sides, so I hope they continue to show their resilience in this position.