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5 Lessons learned from West Ham’s win over Cardiff

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham Head Coach looks on ahead of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Cardiff City at London Stadium on December 04, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham Head Coach looks on ahead of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Cardiff City at London Stadium on December 04, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 04: Michail Antonio of West Ham United and Junior Hoilett of Cardiff City battle for the ball during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Cardiff City at London Stadium on December 4, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 04: Michail Antonio of West Ham United and Junior Hoilett of Cardiff City battle for the ball during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Cardiff City at London Stadium on December 4, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /

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Maybe Antonio can play right back

Since Bilic left there have been post mortems about what went wrong after his explosive first season at the Boleyn. There have been questions about his attitude at the club and with the players, or the longevity of his tactical set up in a side without Dimitri Payet. But other tactical choices certainly contributed. The decision to put a then firing Michail Antonio at right back caused a lot of confusion amongst the fans, and seemed to annoy the then England winger. But on Tuesday we saw Antonio can play in that position. Under the right circumstances.

Before I get a stream of hate on social media saying that I’ve gone mad and Antonio should never play there there are obviously some caveats. Firstly Cardiff gave him very little to worry about down that side. And he spent most of his time in the opposition half, getting down the side of their midfield and defence to supply the attack. I am certainly not advocating he play there instead of Zabaleta.

Next. Arnie injury is bad, but not catastrophic. dark

However there was a big benefit. It meant he didn’t actually get much chance to shoot with his feet. He is good in the air, as shown by his goal, but his technique is severely lacking under any sort of pressure and he is far better laying it off to others. Being in a right back slot almost forced him to do that, making the side more efficient overall.