West Ham picked up a much-needed win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday as the Hammers blew their relegation rivals away with a late flurry of goals from Danny Ings, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio. 4-0 might have felt harsh come full-time but it was a fair reflection of the control David Moyes’ side showed for long periods of the match. Although Forest will feel that they caused problems at times, particularly through Brennan Johnson, Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White, West Ham were largely comfortable and can even feel disappointed to have not scored more as intense first half pressure failed to yield goals.
Łukasz Fabiański – 6
Fabiański had very little to do before sustaining a nasty looking eye socket injury in an unfortunate collision with Felipe.
Vladimír Coufal – 6
Coufal was withdrawn at half-time with a heel injury and his first half performance to that point was middling. The Czech full-back struggled in deeper build-up moments, where he saw plenty of the ball as Forest’s narrow structure encouraged switches to the wide areas for progression, but excelled in the final third where he was allowed to go forward and join the front line. He was slightly unfortunate to not come away with an assist after Ings failed to convert a delightful cross to the back post.
Nayef Aguerd – 7
Despite playing on the wrong side, Aguerd was typically strong on the ball and made several excellent contributions in build-up. The Moroccan also made some crucial defensive interventions in the second half with one tackle to deny Chris Wood and a brilliant aerial challenge to stop André Ayew from making it 2-1 with 15 minutes to go.
Angelo Ogbonna – 6
He might not have been quite as impressive as his partner but Ogbonna stood strong as the team struggled for any rhythm before Ings’ first goal. His headed clearances were important at this time and he made a vital recovery to stop Brenann Johnson from what looked like a certain goal in the 60th minute.
Ben Johnson – 7
Johnson started at left-back where he was asked to play a more conservative role as Saïd Benrahma stayed wider while Jarrod Bowen came in off the opposite flank. He was doing a perfectly reasonable job in this position until a sloppy tackle on Brennan Johnson nearly gave Forest a penalty at the end of the first half. In the second 45, he was switched to the right flank and given license to get further forward. Whilst he may not have delivered a killer ball like Coufal, he did play a wonderful pass into the penalty area for Bowen that led to the fourth alongside a comfortable defensive showing.
Tomáš Souček – 7
Picked as the most offensive midfielder in West Ham’s 4-3-3, Souček was released from all responsibility in build-up and allowed to focus on getting forward alongside Ings when West Ham were in possession. He can be hugely useful in this position as his presence in the final third demands attention and can, in turn, create more space for the striker – you can see this in action for the fourth goal where Antonio is able to loiter at the back stick while Souček attacks the centre of the goal. His off-ball work was typically strong as he pressed highest of the three and headed forward to join Ings, often screening Jonjo Shelvey, against Forest’s first phase build-up. The midfield three has a nice blend when balanced in this fashion. The key question in taking this forward is over Souček’s ability to take the ball in tight spaces and combine with the striker, or Bowen, to create opportunities in central areas.
Declan Rice – 8
Rice was asked to step back into a more withdrawn position at the base of the midfield on Saturday and the captain excelled in this role. Here he was able to display his fantastic anticipation and reading of the game as he picked up balls that travelled through the midfield line ahead of him. It’s appropriate that one of those long distance shots from the left side of the box would fly into the back of the net in this game.
Lucas Paquetá – 9
Exceptional. One of the very best individual performances we’ve seen from any West Ham player so far this season and probably my personal favourite. He may not have been involved in the goals as an assister or scorer but, finally, we are seeing our “Brazilian magnifico” thrive in a role that suits him down to the ground. Like a fly-half, Paquetá floated across the pitch orchestrating attacks, taking the ball and picking the next point of incision. Ostensibly, he was sat in central midfield alongside Rice as others got further forward but it felt as though he was always arriving in the right space to play the next, accelerating, pass. This pairing behind a front five is exciting as Rice isn’t required to pick the final pass and Paquetá doesn’t have to show rigid positional discipline. Rice sniffs out the danger and quashes it while Paquetá controls the attacks. And that’s without talking about the Brazilian’s excellent pressing out of a three where he can go and hunt the ball down in the right moments – something he is excellent at. Magnificent.
Jarrod Bowen – 8
It’s felt like people have forgotten just how good Jarrod Bowen is as West Ham have struggled this season but Saturday’s performance was a marked instance of Bowen reasserting his talent and transformative qualities in West Ham’s frontline. His corners were poor but the winger can be thoroughly pleased with the rest of his work against Steve Cooper’s side where he put in a classically relentless off-ball shift whilst providing countless moments of quality in possession. The highlight was undoubtedly his assist for the opening goal as he took the ball on the right flank, drew Jack Colback and Ayew in, before surging past both to release a brilliant low cross for Ings.
Danny Ings – 7
This is a harsh rating for a player that scored two massive goals on his first West Ham start but I always try to consider the full match and, up until his first, Ings really struggled. The striker missed a couple of great chances from Coufal deliveries – one miscued header and one instance of bad movement guiding him away from the six yard box just before Coufal whipped in a perfect cross between Felipe and Keylor Navas. There were another couple of final third fumbles, loose passes and silly fouls… And then the first goal came – a fantastic encapsulation of Ings’ qualities as the striker switched play to Bowen before surging into the box and providing an outstanding finish (reaching behind himself to kick the ball into the ground and over Navas). David Moyes celebrated wildly for the second and it must be a huge relief to see a goal like this go in. Ings sniffed out the perfect spot to arrive and threw himself at Benrahma’s cutback to slot home another goal from close range. Bad first half. Great second half.
Saïd Benrahma – 7
This was the perfect game for Benrahma as Forest’s system left Neco Williams exposed to 1v1s with the Algerian for most of the match. Perhaps a little reluctant to attack Williams on the outside early in the match, Benrahma grew into the game and combined well with teammates down the left. He picked good moments to surge down the outside and other moments to hold the ball before dropping it back into midfield (exactly how he picked up another assist for a Rice long ranger). It wouldn’t be a Benrahma performance without a healthy serving of casual moments in both defence and attack but the balance between this and his more positive, direct moments was tipped in the right direction on Saturday. Fantastic contribution for the second goal.
Aaron Cresswell – 4
Cresswell was the obvious weak spot in a second half that otherwise went very well. Ben Johnson had dealt well with Brennan Johnson’s pace in the first 45 but Cresswell couldn’t cope with the Welshman’s runs into the channel and down the right flank. West Ham were fortunate to avoid conceding early in the second half as Cresswell’s calamitous start gave up several good chances.
Alphonse Areola – 7
Areola replaced Fabiański for the final 20 minutes and made one sharp save to deny Harry Toffolo a late consolation goal.
Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals, Michail Antonio – N/A
