West Ham vs Southampton: 5 things we learned from the massive win
On Saturday West Ham easily took care of Southampton to move out of the relegation zone. Here are 5 things that we learned from the match and the way ahead.
For starters, it was necessarily clear which West Ham United side we would see. After all, Southampton was sitting higher up in the table and always seems to pose a threat to the Hammers. But 90 minutes later and what we saw and what we learned we one and the same.
5. Flappy-handski turned back into Fabianski
Truly not that big of a surprise that he would bounce right back into form after having somewhat of a tumultuous outing against Liverpool. Lukasz Fabianski has been the savior for the Hammers week in and out and once he left in the Saints lone goal, he settled down.
4. Ngakia and Cresswell continue to shine
The rise of Jeremy Ngakia has been frequently noted and it’s all due to his sharp impact on the match. His counterpart on the other side of the pitch, Aaron Cresswell, has quietly continued to play well. On Saturday, they both kept it up and helped the defense stay intact and earn all 3 points.
3. Nobes can still play 90′ if needed
When asked, most West Ham fans will tell you that the ups and downs of Mark Noble have been bittersweet. After many were calling for a bench role for the skipper, he turned it on and not only was solid in the midfield, he played the entire match partnering well with Rice and Fornals.
2. Bowen’s hype is real
The Hammers marque winter signing picked the right time to show off his skills in the much-needed win Saturday. Jarrod Bowen opened up his West Ham account with an impressive left foot and proceeded to keep playing hard the remainder of the match. Other than the goal he was all of the pitch playing well on both sides of the ball.
1. Seb plays well with some help… shocker
If there was a Google search for most complained about West Ham topics, it would be based around Sebastien Haller not getting the help he needs. Against the Saints, he did and he exceeded many expectations. The partnership with Antonio allowed him to get better open but it also made him better in the attack and with pace.
dark. Next. Jeremy Ngakia is key to the West Ham United revitalization
West Ham taking it to a team that isn’t necessarily considered world-class might not be first-page news but the win was exactly what was needed. There is no doubt however that this performance and lessons learned can be used in the weeks to come as the competition continues to get harder.