West Ham Ratings Soar As Hammers Double Over Villains

After a disappointing showing against Liverpool, it was tense nerves before West Ham’s clash against Aston Villa in Birmingham. Individually and as a team, the Hammers squashed their opponents, dominating the match.

Lukasz Fabianski – 8/10: A tough shot on a remarkable finish slotted past Fabianski to narrow the game to 2-1, but some great organization, dispersion, and catches from the Polish keeper helped in quieting Aston Villa.

Vladimir Coufal – 9/10: After David Moyes dubbed Grealish “probably the best player in the Premier League” the English attacker comfortable spent 90 minutes in Coufal’s pocket (he practically dove right in!). Dominant from start to finish and not afraid to give it back to the flopping winger at all. Class.

Craig Dawson – 8/10: A few nervy moments in the first half were erased by some stellar defending from the English Beckenbauer. He showed up when he was needed and did a wonderful job aerially to take the sting out of Villa’s attack.

Angelo Ogbonna – 8/10: Tasked with covering the left side more than he would normally have to, Ogbonna looked sharp and steady when Villa pressed. Another professional performance from the best centre-back in the league.

Aaron Cresswell – 6/10: No hate here on Cresswell, just some criticism on his play. Largely, he did okay (better than average, call it 60%), but on the goal, he was too busy directing traffic instead of sticking close to Grealish and allowed that cross to come in. It wasn’t bad, just not great.

Declan Rice – 8/10: A real holding midfielder performance from Rice in this match, anchoring back to cover his defenders with extreme loyalty. He passed well, recovered possession extremely well, and linked up with the fullbacks and attackers with pure consistency.

Tomas Soucek – 9.5/10: The opening goal really makes you question the whole ‘holding midfielder’ denotation beside his name because the run and finish were so smooth and clinical. He was a threat all match and also clogged the middle of the pitch like a big bowl of potato salad. Buzzing for him!

Tomas Soucek is the highest-scoring Premier League midfielder from open play since January 2020.

Ryan Fredericks – 7.5/10: Out of position and tasted with playing wingback in a formation that didn’t really allow it, Fredericks had a great game. Offensively, he overlapped with Coufal brilliantly and his crossing was very good as well. Not much to dislike about his game, just needed to be a bit more clinical moving forward.

Jesse Lingard – 10/10: The debut of DREAMS for West Ham’s new string-puller! Lingard was the best player on the pitch in the first half and managed to score the winning goal and insurance goal in a ridiculous second-half showing. The bar has been set incredibly high, but Lingard is off to a perfect start with his new club.

Said Benrahma – 8.5/10: Still searching for his first West Ham goal, but not letting it rock his game at all, Benrahma put in his best shift for the Hammers yet. He was relentless on defence and split open Villa with his assist on Soucek’s goal. Great showing.

Michail Antonio – 7/10: Without his assist, Antonio’s performance was a little underwhelming but you can’t simply take away his goal creation because it doesn’t fit a narrative. He was matched with Mings who did well to box him in, but his pass to Lingard was terrific. Confidence boost to win and get an assist when you’re not at your best!

Substitutes and Manager:

All three subs were used in this match, and all three came after the 80th minute. Pablo Fornals replaced Fredericks and hustled hard for the remaining ten minutes, Ben Johnson came on for Benrahma as the team shifted to a five-at-the-back shape, and Jarrod Bowen relieved Lingard with seconds to spare.

Tactically it was a 10/10 by David Moyes who went drastic after the loss to Liverpool, dropping Bowen and Fornals for a defender out of position and a new player in Lingard. Realistically, both dropped players needed a rest and will be seen against Fulham. Buzzing after this one!