Flops and Tops; West Ham Player Ratings After Stressful Win

A strong start and a match full of wasted chances see West Ham eventually seal the win, but the players failed to cohesively impact the match.

A more attacking second half ceded some solid chances to Burnley to level the match. West Ham’s poor finishing from usually lethal attackers allowed the other clarets to linger, but in the end, the win and clean sheet were intact. How did the players individually rate though?

Lukasz Fabianski – 8/10: A little slow off his line a few times and a few crosses came too close without a punch or catch, but it was a settled and solid performance from the returned keeper.

Vladimir Coufal – 7/10: The Czech fullback appears to be a crossing and chance-creation machine as he continued to whip the ball into dangerous areas with consistency. He was run ragged by Dwight McNeil but served up a clean sheet.

Craig Dawson – 9/10: The only criticism on Dawson was his longball passing was a little inaccurate at times, but the no-nonsense defending he provides is unbelievably effective. No goals on his watch yet and he provided some revenge bastard behaviour on Chris Wood.

Angelo Ogbonna – 9/10: The first perfect score was there for Ogbonna but the woodwork deflected his header out of Nick Pope’s goal. Unbelievable performance from the centre-back who also dribbled around a handful of Burnley players to keep possession later in the match. Rock.

Aaron Cresswell – 5/10: This may be a generous rating based on his diabolical first half. He gave away a needless foul on the edge of the box and also scored an own goal after missing his coverage that was overturned for offside. He settled in the second half, but his delivery was even poor in this one.

Declan Rice – 8/10: Rice came so close to scoring directly from a setpiece but his performance in this match was so dominant and composed. He is a true leader for West Ham at both ends of the pitch, being a rock in defence and spark going forward.

Tomas Soucek – 5/10: He was involved in the attack early but really faded due to poor passing. The referee also limited any aerial effectiveness he could have by whistling for phantom fouls through the game. A bad one, but his defensive clearances were still vital. He’ll bounce back.

Jarrod Bowen – 5/10: Maybe his score should be higher, but his confidence looks completely gone after passing when he should shoot and shooting and missing the net. He was a huge outlet going forward but his decision making and finishing were very poor.

Said Benrhama – 7/10: Played centrally when a left-winger was used and still super effective. He split Burnley open to create the first goal and was always a threat to shoot or cross into the opposition’s box. Nothing on the scoresheet but a great performance.

Pablo Fornals – 8/10: Back in the starting XI with Michail Antonio and back on the scoresheet! Fornals was terrific in this match, covering back on Cresswell’s flank and getting forward with pace. His cross gave us the lead and he worked his boots off.

Michail Antonio – 8/10: He’ll never get an easier goal than he did in this one, tapping in a cross that just wasn’t jumped for by the Burnley defender. He is clearly back to fitness and incorporated his wingers and midfielders really well. Different class today.

Substitutes:

David Moyes is thin on options but Manuel Lanzini was the first sub in the 68th minute for Benrahma and was later joined by Andriy Yarmolenko who replaced Bowen in the 82nd minute. No run out for Mipo Odubeko, as the game was still in contention up to the final whistle.

It was a well-managed match by Moyes despite having limited options to help himself off the bench. He set up in an attacking formation and used the counterattacking speed he had available to spring up the pitch. Another match, another win, another three points, and another clean sheet.