West Ham United, under Manuel Pellegrini, have emerged as one of the prime ‘top six’ contenders this season. They were hammered 5-0 by Manchester City in the opening gameweek but have maintained an unbeaten streak ever since in Premier League.
The London derby this evening was touted to be an enthralling contest considering Crystal Palace’s unpredictability, and this turned out to be a dramatic one when the Eagles staged a comeback despite conceding first and snatched all three points on the road banking on Jordan Ayew’s late winner. This is Roy Hodgson’s first-ever away win against the Hammers which leads Palace to rise into the top four for the time being.
Below are the West Ham United players rated in their shocking 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace.
Roberto: 6
Kept his place between the sticks in the absence of injured ‘number 1’ Lukasz Fabianski. Made a couple of decent stops but could have done little to deny either of Crystal Palace’s goals.
Ryan Fredericks: 7.5
Did not deserve to end up on the losing side as he was outstanding both at the back as well as in the attacking third. He made a significant off the line clearance late in the first half and set it up for Haller who put the hosts ahead after an excellent team move.
Issa Diop: 6
Made a few key recoveries but struggled to deal with the long balls and set-pieces. Lost a few duels and struggled against the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Jordan Ayew and Andros Townsend.
Angelo Ogbonna: 6.5
Was strong in the air and made several no-nonsense clearances to fend off threats. But his lack of pace was troublesome at times, and his positioning might be questioned even though it was a decent game overall for the Italian.
Aaron Cresswell: 6.5
The in-form left-back lacked enough presence high up the pitch and mostly confined his game defensively to contain Zaha. Sustained a knock late in the game and got replaced by Pablo Zabaleta.
Declan Rice: 5.5
Failed to fulfil the hype as he was not dominating enough in the middle of the pitch and conceded a silly penalty by blocking a cross inside the box using his elbow.
Andriy Yarmolenko: 6
Was impressive in spells but failed to pose a constant threat from the right-hand flank. Has been in excellent scoring form in the recent weeks but was unable to replicate a similar show this evening before being replaced by Jack Wilshere.
Mark Noble: 6.5
His work ethics should never be questioned, but the effectiveness was missing despite making persistent box-to-box movements. His finishing was poor as he skied an effort which should have been on target.
Manuel Lanzini: 6
The Argentine lacked the composure in spite of a few tricky moves and smart one-twos. Failed to create enough chances upfront and was taken off to be replaced by Pablo Fornals minutes after Patrick Van Aanholt’s equaliser.
Felipe Anderson:7
Was denied by Vicente Guaita in the Eagles goal and looked purposeful throughout from the left-hand flank. He was creative, threatening and intelligent with his moves and runs.
Sebastien Haller: 7
Earned a lead early into the second half but was wasteful on the other occasion. The Frenchman is scoring goals but must engage himself more into the game while the opponents are in control.
Substitutes
Pablo Fornals: 5.5
Failed to create any significant impact since coming on.
Jack Wilshire: 5.5
Failed to create any major impact since coming on.
Pablo Zabaleta: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
