MATCH REVIEW: Leicester win over lifeless, careless West Ham
By Adam Smith
The writing was on the wall as a depleted West Ham team were picked and set up incorrectly by David Moyes. The impending loss to Leicester was a culmination of poor tactics and a general lack of care by EVERY player.
David Moyes had a mare with this one, didn’t he? The West Ham bench boss forced his limping, short team into his favored 5-3-2 formation (or some variation of it), and predictably so it failed to impress against a Leicester team that plays the ball through the middle of the pitch at an elite level. The wingbacks were lost and ineffective, and the opportunities mounted for the Foxes.
The team had two large omissions from Saturday’s match. Albian Ajeti, who looked strong in his small sample-size against Everton, was on the bench and went unused, and Pablo Fornals was yet again sat for Manuel Lanzini, inexplicably so. 0/2 for Moyes with poor team selection and an awful formation.
The opening goal was all too easy. Leicester were targetting Pablo Zabaleta and Robert Snodgrass‘ right side of the pitch to attack down, but the opener came from the Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku‘s left side. The wonderfully slotted Ricardo Periera cross finds Harvey Barnes unmarked and a foot off the goalline for the easiest goal of his life. 1-0 Leicester flattered West Ham at the 24-minute mark.
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The first half mercilessly ended, but not before Leicester doubled their lead. The Foxes yet again attacked Zabaleta and an errant cross from Barnes finds Periera as the duo swapped spots for the second. The slammed finish scorched passed a screened Darren Randolph just before the halftime whistle.
After what could be the worst half of football the Hammers have played this season, the injection of Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals changed the look of the squad. Back in a usable 4-4-2, Antonio sparked Sebastien Haller immediately with a chance right after kickoff. Five minutes later, Mark Noble would get a goal back as Wilfred Ndidi tripped up Haller in the box for a penalty.
The spark provided by the temporarily rejuvenated team would fade and die, however. Leicester were on their heels, but lack of finishing and link-up play from the midfield to the attack saw the momentum swing back Leicester’s way, resulting in the Foxes picking up where they left off and nabbing another goal in the 81st minute.
Ayoze Perez would get his first of the match and would only have to wait seven more minutes to double it, as his late brace would put the final two nails in the Hammers’ coffin. The game was long over at this point, but the embarrassment was needed for that effort.
Next. West Ham Players Graded after 4-1 Loss to Leicester City. dark
As mentioned, David Moyes did not do enough as a manager to prepare for this game. His team selection was wrong, his formation was ineffective, and despite two good, needed subs, it was too little too late. The real letdown though was the players’ effort. It took more to write this post-match wrap up than any single player gave on that pitch and that is unacceptable.