Premier League legend names West Ham's on-loan star as best free-kick specialist
In the sixth matchday of the Premier League, West Ham managed to make a comeback from 1-0 behind to secure a 1-1 draw with Brentford in the away fixture. However, their goal scoring struggles were again highlighted here as the Hammers couldn't create many chances inside the box due to Brentford’s reliable defending. Moreover, apart from the equalising goal, Julen Lopetegui's side weren't impressive with their build up play going forward and couldn't create good goal scoring opportunities from the set-pieces either.
This really puts forward the question, were West Ham a much better side last season with their higher focus on scoring goals from corners and free-kicks. The Hammers under former manager David Moyes used to rely on players such as Pablo Fornals and James Ward-Prowse to deliver brilliant assists from set-pieces, with a Premier League legend even labeling the latter as the best free-kick specialist in the Premier League.
Premier League legend names West Ham's on-loan star as best free-kick specialist
Recently, former Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspurs legend, Gareth Bale ranked Ward-Prowse as the best free-kick taker in the English top flight while speaking to the Daily Mail. This signifies Ward-Prowse role at West Ham last season as he made 18 goal contributions last season with most of them coming from set-pieces. Although the on-loan Nottingham Forest star isn't great at creating chances from the build up play, he has been a key player for West Ham whenever they needed a few goals to win the match.
Tomas Soucek scores equaliser as West Ham draw 1-1 with Brentford. Tomas Soucek scores equaliser as West Ham draw 1-1 with Brentford. dark. Next
Against Brentford, the situation for West Ham was similar as the home side defended well against the Hammers but gave away eight set-pieces in the match. Had West Ham kept Ward-Prowse, they would have been highly likely to score the 2-1 goal as well to register a comeback win after going 1-0 behind in the first minute of the match. However, that isn't the case, and despite focusing more on a possession based approach to creating chances, West Ham haven't started the season well with only six goals scored after six league matches in the Premier League.
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