For the third time this season West Ham put in a much improved performance but failed to secure a merited result. Against Nottingham Forest on MD2, David Moyes’ team created 0.7 xG more than Steve Cooper’s side but lost, on MD6 they created equal that of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and lost, and again on Sunday the Hammers managed more than double their opposition’s xG but could only come away with a draw. Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team were played off the park for much of the second half but, with an early Romain Perraud goal to lean on, the Saints were able to cling on for a point.
Łukasz Fabiański – 9
In the opening 20-30 minutes of the match, Southampton were rampant. Their direct attacks through Che Adams caused a makeshift West Ham defence all kinds of problems and Fabiański was called upon to keep the score down and give Moyes’ team a chance of pulling themselves back into the game. The Pole’s double save from Adams and Moi Elyounoussi crucially kept the score at 1-0.
Ben Johnson – 5
Filling in on the right side of a back three, Johnson struggled in this match. The young defender failed to add much value in possession whilst struggling to adequately support Thilo Kehrer defensively. Most notably, his failures to seal off offensive corners successfully was a real problem as Southampton were able to counter dangerously on a number of occasions.
Thilo Kehrer – 6
Kehrer was shunted into the centre of defence thanks to midweek injuries to Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna while Kurt Zouma missed out with illness and for just over half an hour it went absolutely terribly. Southampton skipped out the midfield and played the ball straight into Adams because their Scottish striker was battering Kehrer in every single physical duel. Though once he regained his sense of direction after being thrown around like a rag doll for 30 minutes, the German recovered admirably. His covering work to snuff out counters in the second half was excellent.
Aaron Cresswell – 9
It’s hard to argue against the notion that Cresswell is close to hitting his absolute best levels in a West Ham shirt at the moment. His last two performances have been magnificent and he’s certainly offering everything you could hope for from a left centre-back cum left-back. Playing in the former position on Sunday, Cresswell managed a mammoth ten progressive passes and ten passes to the final third. And whilst his offensive output was vital to much of West Ham’s chance creation, his defensive work was superb too – this was perhaps best summed up by his brilliant recovery and interception to deny Southampton a breakaway second after a West Ham corner.
Vladimír Coufal – 7
Although Coufal and Emerson can be considered limiters to the success of Moyes’ three-at-the-back system, Sunday’s match gave us one of Coufal’s best performances of the season so far. Generating 0.31 xT, Coufal increased the chance of a goal by a more significant margin than any other player on the pitch and it was positive to see some of his much-missed directness, decisiveness and aggression return again. It was also great to see some good combination work with Soucek to advance play.
Tomáš Souček – 8
Pretty consistently a standout performer when a back three is utilised, Souček shone once again on Sunday as his ability to break up play was perfectly showcased. His 11 combined tackles, interceptions and clearances was the most of any West Ham player and with the security of the three behind him, the Czech midfielder was able to utilise his positive perception of space to pick up the ball in good areas to aid progression. Rice and Souček as a duo seem to be at their best in this shape.
Declan Rice – 9
An outstanding Declan Rice performance and probably the best individual performance we’ve seen from any West Ham player this season. This was an all-round midfield domination from one player. It’s hard to put into words how spectacular Rice is when he’s at his best and sometimes the stats do all the talking for you: Five tackles and interceptions, 13 recoveries, 91% passing accuracy despite playing ten long passes, seven progressive passes, nine passes to the final third, eight progressive carries, and one goal… Just sensational.
Emerson Palmieri – 6
An underwhelming showing from wing-back that unsurprisingly led to the Italian being replaced early in the second half by Saïd Benrahma. Emerson has to offer so much more than he did here when deployed in this more attacking position.
Jarrod Bowen – 7
This was a pretty unremarkable Bowen performance with good moments dotted throughout without any of his positive work really leading anywhere. He was defensively reliable, as he often is – six of his ten pressures led to turnovers and he recovered possession himself 11 times – but he could do with adding a few better deliveries into the box.
Lucas Paquetá – 7
Paquetá struggled a little in the first half when shoehorned into the side on the left of a front three but things improved considerably after Moyes’ half-time tactical changes saw him moved into a more central position. Once able to get on the ball more regularly, move freely and rotate with Souček and Rice, the Brazilian offered lots more. Statistically, it’s (weirdly) his aerials that stand out this week with 86% success from seven duels and his progressive passing (7) as expected. Despite the high aerial success rate, he probably should’ve scored when picked out by Gianluca Scamacca at the back stick in the first half.
Gianluca Scamacca – 7
Chance after chance came and went in the first half but credit must be given to Scamacca for manufacturing shooting opportunities on several occasions – and even then, it was only heroic blocks from Mohammed Salisu and Armel Bella-Kotchap that stopped the Italian from scoring. There was a snapshot on the turn that he perhaps should’ve hit the target with but it’s hard to criticise when his shot only faded just wide of the upright. And he could’ve lobbed Bazunu when played through in the 83rd minute rather than thundering the ball straight at him. Honestly though, it’s incredibly positive that Scamacca is receiving and generating so many chances – the goals will follow.
Saïd Benrahma – 8
Brought on at left wing-back on the hour, Said Benrahma was truly excellent. It was his darting, jinking and dribbling down the left that caused so many problems for Southampton and this was rightly rewarded with his assist for Rice’s equaliser. It’s slightly bonkers to see such a defensively insecure player feature in this role but the Algerian has really added a dimension to his game this season with his ability to take the ball to the byline as well as cutting in. His positive performances continue to knock on that first team door.
Michail Antonio, Manuel Lanzini – N/A
