West Ham’s False Nine Success at Everton

A new game and a new formation for West Ham. However, at Merseyside, it was a successful application as West Ham put forward a balanced attack to secure all three points at Everton. Manuel Pellegrini succeeded in his use of a fluid false nine, here’s why.

West Ham have been begging for some consistency in their matches, but with a new 4-3-3 formation the Irons had success visiting Everton. Answering why West Ham had success with this change in formation is difficult when you factor in the six-player change to the starting XI, but balance seems to be associated with the win.

West Ham’s midfield three played at two depths with Pedro Obiang being the most advanced and  Mark Noble and Declan Rice deeper in the midfield to support the center-backs and wingers with defensive coverage. The added width in defensive midfield with the 4-3-3 formation was noticeably effective in sharing coverage duties, especially when Everton began attacking from wide positions in the second half.

Obiang acted as a box-to-box midfielder, tracking back to break up Everton’s possession regularly but also jumping into Everton’s box to threaten alongside the front three. For Rice he settled in well in his first Premier League action since being dropped at halftime vs. Liverpool Rice and Noble were solid all match, stepping up when needed, and disrupting the probing attack of the Everton forwards.

The balance of West Ham’s team was also shown in the selected front three. Pellegrini chose to move Felipe Anderson to the left wing, back where he unsuccessfully began the season but played him in a more advanced role. The front three set up (at times) as a false nine with Arnuatovic staying further back and the wingers overlapping the center forward up top.

Anderson clearly relished the position for a few reasons. Without a number 10 on the pitch, Pedro Obiang stepped up from the midfield three to provide a passing outlet with Anderson. As well, Arthur Masuaku, who returned from injury, looked up to his regular self, overlapping with Anderson as often as he could.

Secondly was Anderson’s comfortability along the sideline. Anderson looked great behind the striker in the middle of the pitch, but up the wing, Anderson can use his legs to his advantage and can use the paint to set up his next movements forward. It seems minimal, but Anderson clicking down the wing opens up Snodgrass to play centrally and Antonio to stick to his native right wing.

Speaking of Antonio, Pellegrini showed adaptability in his substitution of Arnautovic for Antonio as the striker. Lucas Perez was supposed to come on but with a knee injury popping up, Antonio was put on as he was already warm. Antonio looked great on the ball and if not for a let down in his finishing would have ended up on the scoresheet for West Ham. Moving forward Antonio needs to be used like Adama Traore from Wolves, a sub who can burn a tired team with his immense pace.

Yarmolenko was also injected into the starting XI and got off to a booming start with two goals. He showed he has pace when he has an opportunity to get a scoring chance, as was on display on his first goal, and also showed his ability to curl in a shot from distance when given the opportunity. The large forward provided West Ham with another dimension to their front line, showing size like Arnautovic and technical skill like Anderson.

It was a resounding success for Pellegrini who set up his team in a formation that best suited their playing style. Rice got to learn from Noble, Anderson returned to the wing, Obiang was a box-to-box threat, and Yarmolenko got his first start as an advances right winger. More of the same is in order as West Ham need to keep their shape and diligence against Chelsea and Manchester United.