West Ham United were having a decent run of form in the Premier League survival race until they contested Liverpool and got hammered at Anfield. The Irons, however, had a crucial fixture this afternoon when they travelled to Wales to face fellow relegation strugglers Swansea City who, despite enjoying a scintillating run under new boss Carlos Carvalhal, were back in the ‘bottom three’ following last weekend’s heavy defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion. David Moyes, the West Ham boss, was expecting a close encounter and rightly so, due to the urge of the Swans to stay up in the league defying the odds. It, however, proved far from a close one as the hosts demolished the Hammers and scripted a gigantic 4-1 win to come out of the drop zone.
Below are the West Ham United players rated in their humiliating defeat against Swansea City.
Adrian: 5
Although his view was blocked, the custodian should have done better to deal with Sung-Yeung Ki’s tame effort that earned the hosts an early lead. Did well to palm Ayew’s effort but it bounced off Hernandez and Andy King made no mistake to make it 3-0 from the rebound.
Winston Reid: 5.5
Returned from injury but did not last for half-an-hour though as he hurt himself in the process of blocking Alfie Mawson. Was forced to be replaced by Sam Byram.
Declan Rice: 5
The teenager replaced Angelo Ogbonna in central defence, made some crucial clearances in early minutes but was at fault when the Swans doubled the lead via Mike van der Hoorn who eased past Rice to head it home.
Aaron Cresswell: 6
Tried hard to win duels, maintain his neat passing traits but struggled while defending set-pieces and contain the Ayew brothers who kept on troubling the Hammers defensive line. Assisted substitute Antonio for West Ham’s consolation goal from a free-kick.
Pablo Zabaleta: 5.5
Started the game as the right wingback but later shifted to the right-hand side of West Ham’s ‘back three’ following the injury exit of Winston Reid.
Cheikhou Kouyate: 4
Was forced to play deep against swift attacking movements from the Swans and could not offer much in winning the midfield battle. Struggled to win back possession, his passing was not accurate and also failed to offer his physical presence. Was at fault while conceding their fourth from the spot as he clipped Andre Ayew inside the box that resulted in a penalty.
Mark Noble: 6
Combative but lost plenty of duels in the middle of the park. Was unlucky to be booked in the first half as he had to be cautious while going for whole-hearted tackles to avoid a marching order. Tried to mobilize the game in midfield but lacked proper support from his fellow midfielders.
Patrice Evra: 5.5
Won a few duels, lost a few, made a few clearances and tried to offer something in the attack from the left-hand flank. The 36-year-old Frenchman, however, lacked composure and failed to leave any impact thus was replaced at half-time by Michail Antonio.
Marko Arnautovic: 6
The in-form Austrian lacked enough support in the attack and failed to leave any impact except a few half chances. Lost his temperament and fouled Kyle Naughton needlessly that resulted in a book half.
Manuel Lanzini: 5.5
Had a quiet evening at Anfield since returning from his injury and once again struggled to get into the game from the left-hand flank.
Javier Hernandez: 5
Chicharito, known for his goal-poaching traits and great positioning inside the box, failed to create anything spectacular upfront and had very few touches in the game that did not even trouble Lukasz Fabianski for once. He instead contributed to Swansea’s third of the afternoon when Adrian’s save bounced him off and netted by Andy King to make it 3-0.
Substitutes
Sam Byram: 5.5
Was brought in place of injured Winston Reid, played in his usual right wingback role but was mostly restricted to his defending duties against a resilient Swansea City side who kept on troubling the Hammers backline.
Michail Antonio: 7
Was introduced in place of Patrice Evra, tried to show attacking intent and pulled one back with a great finish. The Englishman now scores off the bench for the second game in a row following his last week goal against Liverpool.
