GSH Player Ratings: Best and Worst Performers in West Ham vs Manchester City
By Mia Claydon
It has been a few days since West Ham’s opening day 2-0 loss to Manchester City. Player of the Match Erling Haaland kicked off his bid for the Golden Boot trophy, scoring both of the visitor’s goals. But scoreline aside,
Mia, Jack, and Alex have given their opinion on the Hammers’ first game. Who were the best performers? Who were the worst performers?
Mia’s Opinion
Best Performers – Declan Rice, Gianluca Scamacca (7)
Worst Performers – Tomas Soucek, Michail Antonio (3)
This felt like another pre-season game. The boys were sloppy in the rare moments we had possession, and showed too much space to the Champions ultimately exposing ourselves. As a West Ham fan, you’re always hoping you can give a good game to a top team, and on many occasions we have, but there is also the realism that a loss is likely. But we do expect the team to work hard, and I think only a few players can say that this week. Regardless, we look to Forest where we are definitely expecting to win three points.
Player Ratings:
Fabianski N/A – An unfortunate early injury caused Fabianski to leave the pitch after just 28 minutes, and little impact was made during this time.
Coufal 5 – Great during the odd occasion West Ham attacked but did give a lot of space to Jack Grealish throughout the game.
Johnson 5 – He had a tough job containing Haaland and played a position that is not his preferred, but made some good tackles and forward passes.
Zouma 5 – Had a good defensive aerial performance, reduced Manchester City’s threat from crosses.
Cresswell 5 – Appeared quite exposed at times and struggled to contain Phil Foden, but similarly to Coufal, made some good attacking passes.
Rice 7 – Standard performance from Rice, reliable, tried to get the ball moving, and made some great blocks. However, there’s only so much he could do on Sunday.
Soucek 3 – Overall poor performance, looked lost in midfield, and had a sense of panic when he had the ball.
Lanzini 5 – Personally think he was replaced too soon, offers a slight spark in the attack. He spent the majority of the game chasing the ball, but struggled to make an impact.
Fornals 5 – Work rate is second to none as always but like the rest of his teammates, could not make a mark on the game.
Bowen 4 – A lazy performance from the latest England recruit, lacking the technical flair and ability he showed last season.
Antonio 3 – Picked up a few fouls, but showed no intent to regain possession and appeared to walk around for most of the game. His knee was strapped up so this may be down to a previous injury, but poor performance nevertheless.
Areola 4 – His rash decision-making led to a penalty just minutes after coming on for the injured Fabianski.
Scamacca 7 – Real great signs of potential for our new striker. He won every ball from goal kicks, showing dominance through his size. He had a great chance too and clearly has the determination to be successful at the club.
Benrahma 4 – Tried to get the Hammers off the ground, but his decision-making let him down in the final third.
Downes/Coventry N/A – Both appeared too late to make a judgement, but hopefully we will see more of these two throughout the season.
Follow Mia on Twitter – @_miaclaydon!
Jack’s Opinion
Best Performer – Declan Rice (7)
Worst Performers – Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma (4)
While we started off really brightly against City, it didn’t take long for them to get a grip on the game and show their class. It wasn’t the best performance but there were promising signs of things to come and we can only get better. It is City after all and half our new signings either weren’t available or weren’t fit enough to start. Scamacca looked very bright when he came on and he looks like everything we’ve been crying out for in a striker. It will be very exciting to see how he progresses as the season goes on. Overall there are positives from this game and it will only help our fitness.
Player Ratings:
Fabianski N/A – Got injured fairly early into the first half, hopefully he recovers soon.
Coufal 6 – looked very solid down the right-hand side, got forwards a fair bit, and looked back to his old self.
Zouma 6 – again mostly solid throughout the game, won his aerial duels but did fall asleep and let Haaland through twice.
Johnson 6 – having had to slot in at CB at short notice Johnson had a good game. Not his usual position but again was solid. Looked a bit shaken at times but he was out of position so we’ll forgive him. I’d be scared marking Haaland too.
Cresswell 5 – made a couple of good blocks but lost his man on several occasions. Got a couple of crosses into the box but nothing special. A new starting left-back should be the priority.
Rice 7 – just standard Declan Rice, made some great interceptions and tackles and consistently made forward runs. He did well to nullify City’s attack at points.
Soucek 6– Again solid, made most of his passes, and made some great challenges.
Lanzini 4 – struggled to get into the game at all, forgot he was playing at times.
Fornals 5 – like Lanzini, he struggled to get into it. Had a bit more joy down the left but his touch let him down several times. Good pressing though.
Antonio 4 – failed to really cause any issues for City’s back line. Didn’t make a successful pass and got injured in the first half. Should have been taken off instantly.
Bowen 5 – Didn’t get much joy down the right, delivery wasn’t as pinpoint as usual. Didn’t look as sharp as last season. Good running but needs to sharpen up.
Scamacca 6 – Great little spell coming off the bench, caused City’s defence real problems and had some great link-up play. Very exciting cameo.
Benrahma 4 – came on late but didn’t really make an impact. He had a decent chance but fluffed it. Had more joy down the left than Fornals but failed to create any danger.
Coventry & Downes N/A – both made their Premier League debuts but didn’t have enough time to do anything.
Follow Jack on Twitter – @JH_Journalism!
Alex’s Opinion
Best Performers – Lukasz Fabianski, Declan Rice, Gianluca Scamacca (7)
Worst Performer – Said Benrahma (3)
What a boring game! There’s not much we can learn from it. Man City are simply too good and barely gave us a touch of the ball. They suffocated us gaining possession back so quickly and we may have put in a poor performance but it’s down to their brilliance. Onto Nottingham Forest next week.
Player Ratings:
Fabianski – 7
Coufal – 5
Johnson – 6
Zouma – 5
Cresswell – 4
Rice – 7
Soucek – 6
Lanzini – 4
Fornals – 4
Bowen – 5
Antonio – 5
Areola – 4
Scamacca – 7
Benrahma – 3
Downes/Coventry – N/A
Follow Alex on Twitter – @AlexSmith_123!