Despite winning three games in a row, Aston Villa failed to meet West Ham United’s standards this afternoon. The Hammers lost a couple of key individuals during the game, yet they maintained their composure en route to clinching a 2-1 victory at London Stadium. An emotional day for their Ukrainian attacker Andriy Yarmolenko who broke the deadlock after appearing as a second-half substitute in place of Michail Antonio.
Below are the West Ham United players rated in their win against Aston Villa.
Lukasz Fabianski: 7
Made a few saves. Most of them, however, were routine stops as the visitors failed to trouble him enough between the sticks barring a late attempt. Could have done little to stop Jacob Ramsey’s injury-time consolation.
Ben Johnson: 7
Lost a few duels, lacked accuracy with his long balls, but the youngster worked tirelessly down the right-hand flank. Tried to offer his presence high up the pitch, also helped the Hammers defensively with timely trackbacks.
Craig Dawson: 7.5
Missed a goal-scoring opportunity from a set-piece situation. But the Englishman was solid otherwise with timely tackles, recoveries and interceptions.
Kurt Zouma: 7.5
Was strong in the air as he kept on winning duels against Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins. Tried to play it out from the back with great passing accuracy.
Aaron Cresswell: 7
Made some overlapping runs down the left-hand flank. Created a few chances upfront but he could not continue for more than an hour due to an injury misfortune. Was replaced by Ryan Fredericks with more than 30 minutes remaining.
Tomas Soucek: 7
A balanced display from the Czech midfield ace who not only tried to dominate possession but also disrupted Villa’s moves in the middle of the park.
Declan Rice: 8
Worked tirelessly with his down the middle runs, box-to-box movements as well as ball-carrying attributes. His link-up play and vision often opened up space in the Villa backline.
Manuel Lanzini: 6.5
Operated from a slightly deeper midfield role. Showcased high work ethics, but the Argentine could have offered more in terms of creativity from behind the frontline.
Pablo Fornals: 8.5
Fired in from a great counter-attacking move to make it 2-0 late in the game. Was relentless down the wide with his runs, crosses and cut insides.
Said Benrahma: 9
Set it up for both Yarmolenko and Fornals depicting perfect wing-play. His directness caused menace in the Villans’ defence. Was taken off in the closing minutes for Issa Diop.
Michail Antonio: 6
Tried to create problems with his pace, power and dribbling traits. But he could not continue for long due to an injury that forced him to leave the pitch early into the second half. Andriy Yarmolenko replaced him in the attacking third.
West Ham United Substitutes Vs Aston Villa
Andriy Yarmolenko: 8
His smart finish earned the Irons a much-needed lead around the 70th-minute mark.
Ryan Fredericks: 6.5
Did well defensively since replacing Creswell down the left.
Issa Diop: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
