After West Ham's 5-1 defeat against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher revealed Edson Alvarez's red card as the turning point of the match. While the star midfielder's recent struggles have been surprising, there is another key player who hasn't been convincing despite enjoying a great Premier League campaign last season. The player is 30-year-old left-back Emerson Palmieri, who looked good in the pre-season but his performances after last month's international break have been underwhelming.
The Italy international is known for his playmaking abilities while also winning possession while defending, however his decision making hasn't been great recently. In the 1-1 draw with Brentford, Julen Lopetegui's side conceded the opening goal within the first minute due to a collective defensive mistake that led Mbeumo to give the home side an early 1-0 lead. Analysing the goal, Carragher was left unimpressed with Emerson’s defending, saying,
Jamie Carragher unimpressed with West Ham defender in Brentford draw
"This is just about being active and pace and energy. West Ham don’t look active, especially the left-back there Emerson.Jamie Carragher
He’s been done on the first run initially, Ajer puts the ball in and look at Emerson, he’s got to be closer, and he’s got to be aggressive."
Carragher spoke about Emerson's lack of pace while trying to win the ball possession and also highlighted the former Chelsea star's lacklustre defending as Brentford managed to take advantage in the match with their early goal. Despite bringing in three new defenders in the summer transfer window, West Ham haven't been a reliable defensive side and have conceded ten goals in their previous four matches across all competitions. In the second half against Brentford, manager Julen Lopetegui even brought 34-year-old Aaron Cresswell to avoid conceding any further goals and taking a draw from the match.
In the upcoming fixture, West Ham will play Kieran McKenna's Ipswich Town and Cresswell can be started at left-back given the fact that Ipswich Town recently played a thrilling 2-2 draw with Unai Emery's Aston Villa. Now it remains to be seen whether West Ham can take a win in the next match before heading into the international break.