West Ham's Players Graded after 0-2 loss to Watford

West Ham turned in their first ragged performance in a month vs Watford at London Stadium. Unable to finish their chances, it resulted in a 0-2 defeat to the Hornets on a weekend unlike any other so far in this Premier League campaign.

West Ham hit the woodwork twice; Chicharito uncharacteristically miss hit two golden chances inside the box; Antonio went wide (there he is again!) while the club had more shots and more shots on target than Watford. But unlike last week, this time the club could not finish any of them and they lose the game.

Here is how Hammers’ players graded in the match

Grades (/10):

Fabianski–7

Perhaps the second best player on the pitch after his counterpart on the other end in Ben Foster. West Ham’s MOTM on a day when there wasn’t much quality to be found. No chance on the Deeny penalty or the decisive second goal. The defending by West Ham was a shop of horrors all afternoon.

Masuaku-6

He is defending more to be sure, but not much tricky action going forward as a result. Not sure how he keeps holding on to his place, and maybe he won’t as the squad rotates with three games in 8 days

Diop–6

A few quality tackles mixed in with some pretty poor defensive decisions throughout the match. Credit to him as his partner went off injured, he switched sides and was just fine.

Balbuena- (’34) 5

Caused the penalty that led to the goal from the spot and injured himself in the process. Not a good day on the backline for the General. We await to see if the injury is serious and if he misses time this week.

Zabaleta- 6

Much like the rest of the club, a non-descript performance from him today. A few chances and crosses in from around the 18-yard box didn’t result in much

Rice- 6

Watford exposed some rather large holes in the West Ham midfield. Rice had his usual tackles and carried the ball forward more today out of trouble.

Noble (56’) -6

When the performances throughout the side are average and well below where they have been during the recent winning streak, the result is no result. Didn’t have it in him today.

Snodgrass – 7

And as noted in a side that didn’t have much to offer and couldn’t finish, there was McMessi all over the place offensively and taking the majority of the Irons 10 crosses

Anderson -7

Not as impactful as in prior weeks but still a presence in West Ham’s attack. Lacking the explosion seen in previous weeks.

Chicharito (75’)- 7

Had two glorious chances at his feet inside the six-yard box, and uncharacteristically for him, he mishit both. If the first one goes in for the Hammers at the 43’ minute mark, the side goes in at Half even at 1-1 and the game goes any direction from there. But it didn’t.

Antonio -7

Another one who had serious chances to put one in the back of the net but couldn’t, including a header that hit the bar just after the start of the second half that could’ve drawn WHU even at 1. Had one of his usual shots that went way off target too

Hammers rewarded in B/R rankings. dark. Next

Subs Used:

Ogbanna (34’) – 7

Forced to play most of the game after the injured Balbuena had to come off. Despite not getting much action in the last month, looked good, Drew a penalty just outside the box and is a threat to score on set pieces.

Carroll (56’) – 6

Had three chances to get on the end of crosses and in what was the refrain of the day, couldn’t get enough on them to ask Foster any serious questions. Always a lightning rod, Carroll looks slow compared to the rest of the side and has rust all over his boots.

Diangana (75’)- 6

Would like to see him get a start in one of the next three matches, but at who’s expense? Maybe if Antonio moves to RB for a game. His flair when he comes on is noticeable and would give opposing sides someone else to think about besides Anderson in the final third.

West Ham’s Players Graded after Putting in a Ragged Performance in Loss to Watford

By Jeff Catlin | Dec 24, 2018