West Ham United welcomed Olympique Lyonnais at the London Stadium earlier tonight as they focused on securing a victory in front of their home supporters. The Hammers were solid in the early goings of the game but suffered a huge setback in the first half injury-time when Aaron Cresswell was sent off. Both teams had to settle for a scoreless draw at half-time.
Jarrod Bowen broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute and gave West Ham the lead on the night. However, Lyon equalised via Tanguy Ndombele’s goal from close range just 14 minutes later. The match ended 1-1 with both teams sharing the spoils ahead of the second leg at the Groupama Stadium.
Let’s take a look at how each West Ham player performed during the match against Lyon.
GK: Alphonse Areola – 7/10
The Hammers goalie made a few crucial saves at the back but won’t be pleased after allowing a goal in the second half.
RB: Ryan Fredericks – 6.5/10
He was a strong presence in the air and did his fair share of defending.
CB: Craig Dawson – 7/10
He got stuck in with some crunching tackles and cleared the danger when the Lyon players were on the front foot.
CB: Kurt Zouma – 7/10
The West Ham centre-back made a lot of important clearances inside his half and did enough to limit the opposition from scoring more than one goal.
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LB: Aaron Cresswell – 5/10
He let his teammates down by getting sent off in the first half injury-time.
CM: Tomas Soucek – 7.5/10
Soucek offered excellent protection for his teammates at the back but struggled to make an impact going forward.
CM: Declan Rice – 7/10
The English sensation influenced the sensation at both ends of the field. He anchored the midfield really well and made a couple of promising runs with the ball.
RW: Jarrod Bowen – 7/10
Bowen took his goal well in the second half and caused a lot of problems for the Lyon defenders.
CAM: Pablo Fornals – 7/10
He came back to defend when needed and completed two exciting dribbles in the Lyon half.
LW: Said Benrahma – 6.5/10
Benrahma had a couple of bright moments in the game but never looked like he would score.
ST: Michail Antonio – 6.5/10
The English centre-forward worked hard but failed to register a goal tonight.
Substitutes:
RM: Ben Johnson – 6.5/10
He made a lot of last-gasp clearances to keep the opposition frustrated.
