Chicharito striker duo key in West Ham’s away win at Newcastle
By Adam Smith
West Ham didn’t dominate possession, didn’t dominate the shot category, they didn’t have more corner kicks or crosses, yet somehow West Ham ended up dominating Newcastle and taking all three points. So what was the key to West Ham’s dominance? Formation, formation, formation, my favorite topic (oh yeah and Chicharito).
Maybe it’s too easy to boil it down to just the formation but Manuel Pellegrini seems to have picked up on something every fan knows and no previous manager seemed to see – play Chicharito with a striker partner.
Chicharito thrives when he can drift from his coverage and slip in behind the defenders to create some space. The first goal West Ham scored today was the perfect example of this. While Robert Snodgrass took the ball from the corner and lined up a terrific cross, Chicharito delayed his run allowing Arnautovic to come across the net and pull both centre-backs.
What came next was a finish that Manchester United fans would be fond of. Chicharito ran onto the ball that came from over his right shoulder and hit it on the half volley past the keeper who couldn’t react quick enough. It was the archetypal fox-in-the-box goal and a terrific Chicharito-esque goal.
He used his striker partner to perfection on that goal and on his second again relied on build-up play from Arnautovic. The play really started on the boot of Declan Rice who turned and uncorked a wild kick that somehow found the head of Arnautovic for a flick on that sent Hernandez in on goal.
Chicharito had to do a lot more on this goal, running with the ball for thirty yards before getting into shooting position. Once in the box and with the defender closing him down from the left rapidly Chicharito selected the bottom corner and made no mistake burying the ball with pace. The technique was perfect and the lead was doubled.
On the third goal, Chicharito didn’t get an opportunity to show his skill speed but instead showed his humility. On a chance that saw Chicharito slip his coverage in the box behind the attacking Felipe Anderson, Chicharito chose to emphatically applaud and cheer on his teammate for the nifty goal rather than complain about not getting a chance to finish his hattrick.
It was a game that will give Pellegrini complete confidence in Chicharito atop his 4-2-2-2 formation (or 4-4-2 if you lack imagination) and it couldn’t have come at a better time. West Ham only have two days in between this match and their next game at home against Cardiff. With more players returning to fitness and firing team selection should be interesting for Pellegrini.