Wednesday night gave us West Ham’s best team performance of the season so far as David Moyes’ side utilised a hybrid system incorporating Pablo Fornals as a wing-back to go toe to toe with Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur.
The team executed a mid-block effectively for long periods with occasional bursts of well-timed energy to transition into a high press and disrupt Spurs’ first phase of possession. This required huge levels of off-ball concentration and anticipation and excellent decision-making – elements of a performance that Moyes will have been pleased to see given that they provide strong building blocks for the rest of the season.
Lukasz Fabianski – 7
Fabianski made a number of relatively simple saves and claims throughout the match and will have been relieved to see Harry Kane scuff his volley in the 81st minute – an easy gather in the end.
Thilo Kehrer – 7
The German centre-back has really impressed since arriving from PSG despite the penalty concession against Brighton and his own goal in this match – there was nothing he could do in this instance as Son Heung-Min was racing in behind him to tap the ball home and Kehrer’s performance was otherwise positive. He shackled the Korean well and looked assured but for a slightly mad scissor challenge on Kane late in the match. His passing ability will prove to be a vital addition to the backline this season and his line-breaking pass to pick out Fornals while under pressure led to Michail Antonio hitting the post in the first half.
Kurt Zouma – 6
Zouma had a slow first half where Kane’s movement caused real problems – he was a little too slow to engage at times and Kane found that he had the time to turn the ball forwards on a number of occasions. Zouma’s level improved significantly in the second half though and his aerial ability proved crucial as Spurs crossed the ball with more regularity late in the match. Made a match high seven clearances.
Aaron Cresswell – 9
Playing on the left of a three, Cresswell was absolutely magnificent on Wednesday night. His flexibility in being able to effectively become a left-back in possession and overlap Fornals to provide space in central areas is crucial to the system and enables so much of what the team does well. He topped the progressive passing stats for West Ham yet again (5) and was faultless in defence before being withdrawn in the 72nd minute with a groin injury.
Vladimír Coufal – 7
Playing in a very advanced right wing-back role, Coufal excelled when the team had more control of the ball. He provided a couple of excellent crosses in the second half that should’ve led to more as Fornals cannoned his effort over the bar and Lucas Paquetá left a perfect shooting opportunity for Emerson. Earlier in the match, he struggled alongside Jarrod Bowen to contain the combined threats of Son, Ivan Perišić and Ben Davies.
Tomáš Souček – 8
Scorer of the equalising goal, a perfect bit of control and finishing from Antonio’s flick, Souček performed really well throughout this match and proved, yet again, that he is at his best when playing in a double-pivot supported by a back three. With licence to get forward on and off the ball, the full potential of his energy is better realised. It’s his goal and vital challenge on Son that gave West Ham the point here and his regain and cross could easily have led to all three if Bowen had been able to slot home.
Declan Rice – 8
Similarly to Souček, the full range of Rice’s abilities are displayed in this back three shape and we’re starting to see the captain get back to the levels he hit with near total regularity last season. In this match he recorded the most tackles and interceptions (6), most recoveries (10), joint-most progressive passes (5) and the most progressive carries (6). Clean sweep.
Pablo Fornals – 6
Fornals has shown great adaptability to be able to perform at left wing-back and he went about his business without complaint from this deeper position again on Wednesday night. His pressures on Emerson Royal were exceptionally timed so as to deny the out-ball repeatedly and force Spurs to go long or risk a turnover deep in their own half. He must improve his efficiency when passing forwards and it wasn’t surprising to see him hooked after being comfortably beaten to a loose ball just outside the box.
Jarrod Bowen – 7
Bowen’s struggles in putting the final touches together continued here as he spurned an excellent breakaway chance in the first half and just failed to turn the ball in from a Souček cross later in the match. But crucially, he is still getting into the right areas several times every match and is putting in massive shifts off the ball. Although he only had 7.7% success from his 26 pressures on Wednesday, his constant energy in trying to disrupt Spurs’ build-up drove the team on at points. There are still things to work on – his communication with Coufal can improve to stop opposition switches to their flank being quite so effective but the goals will come if he continues at this level.
Michail Antonio – 7
It’s been a very promising start to the season from Antonio and he performed excellently again in this match. His pressing from the front was outstanding as he recorded a monstrous 43.5% success from 23 attempted pressures and he impressed with his hold-up play yet again; with one standout moment in the second half as he carried the ball down the left flank and drew a number of players in before cutting the ball back to Rice. The assist for Souček was ingenious and he was very unfortunate to see a curling effort from range hit the post.
Saïd Benrahma – 7
But for a few poor decisions in the final third where Benrahma took shots from distance rather than finding teammates in better positions, this was a fantastic performance. His intelligence when pressing was crucial to enabling Antonio and Bowen’s intensity as he covered Pierre-Emile Højbjerg or screened options for Davinson Sánchez and forced the Colombian to go long. The combination play we’ve seen between him and Fornals in this system has been really exciting.
Lucas Paquetá – 6
It’s immediately clear to see that West Ham’s record signing will be very busy off the ball as Paquetá steamed into a number of challenges after coming on for the final 25 minutes of Wednesday’s match. This was a cameo full of promise that should’ve ended with a winning goal when Coufal’s 89th minute cutback arrived perfectly for Paquetá to smash into the net, only for fellow new arrival Emerson to run across the ball and confuse him.
Angelo Ogbonna – 5
Replacing Cresswell for the final 20 minutes, Ogbonna had a difficult time as Conte immediately responded to his introduction by bringing a completely fresh Richarlison on. If Ogbonna is to play in this CB/LB role again, he may need to make some slightly more conservative decisions as he certainly doesn’t have the pace to recover when beaten.
Emerson Palmieri – N/A
Spurs: Lloris (6), Sánchez (4), Dier (7), Davies (7), Emerson (7), Højbjerg (7), Bissouma (6), Perišić (7), Kulusevski (6), Kane (6), Son (6); Richarlison (8).
