West Ham United faced off against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane earlier tonight hoping to pick up a rare win on the road. The Hammers suffered an early setback when their goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski pulled up with an injury. The Polish keeper had to be subbed out early in the game with David Martin replacing him on the pitch. Both teams cancelled each other out in the first 45 minutes and had nothing to show for their efforts.
The East London outfit made a sloppy start to the second half as Oliver McBurnie opened the goal-scoring in the 53rd minute after a poor mistake by West Ham’s substitute keeper Martin. David Moyes’ men couldn’t find a way back into the contest as it finished with a 1-0 scoreline in favour of the Blades after the full-time whistle.
Let’s take a look at how each West Ham player fared during the contest versus the Blades.
GK: Lukasz Fabianski – N/A
The West Ham goalie had to go off injured early in the game after overstretching himself when attempting a goal-kick.
RWB: Pablo Zabaleta – 6/10
The Argentine full-back was a decent outlet for West Ham down the right flank, but he struggled to deliver quality service in the final third.
CB: Fabián Balbuena – 6/10
He had a comfortable first 45 minutes but was left helpless by his goalkeeper in the 53rd minute which led to the Sheffield goal. Balbuena will be hoping for better nights in a West Ham jersey.
CB: Angelo Ogbonna – 6/10
The Italian centre-back managed to keep McBurnie in check in the first half and was responsible for making some vital clearances for his side in the second.
CB: Aaron Cresswell – 7.5/10
The English full-back was deployed as a makeshift centre-half, but to his credit, he had a good game at the back and defended resolutely throughout the 90 minutes.
LWB: Arthur Masuaku – 4/10
The Congolese winger was often lazy as he was reluctant to get forward and run into open spaces using his pace and power. He didn’t track back and help out his teammates in defence, which is unforgivable.
CM: Mark Noble – 5.5/10
The midfield veteran fought for every loose ball but lacked quality with his ball-distribution and couldn’t dominate the midfield battle as he would have liked.
CM: Declan Rice – 7/10
The English midfielder worked his socks off in midfield and chased down a lot of Sheffield players by limiting the time they had on the ball in midfield. It was an impressive night’s work for him, but unfortunately, he still ended up in the losing team.
RAM: Manuel Lanzini – 5/10
The Argentine playmaker struggled to distribute the ball accurately and didn’t show enough creativity in the final third. It was another underwhelming display from him tonight.
LAM: Felipe Anderson – 5/10
He missed a glorious chance midway through the first half when he was through on goal but couldn’t keep his attempt on target. Anderson was mostly ineffective in the second 45.
ST: Sébastien Haller – 6/10
The Hammers forward thought he scored the equaliser, but unfortunately, his goal was ruled out by VAR. He was an ideal target man for West Ham and did well to hold the ball up and get others involved in the Blades half. However, he once again failed to register a goal which won’t do his confidence any good.
Substitutes:
GK: David Martin – 4/10
He came off the bench to replace Fabianski in the first half but was guilty of making a horrendous mistake after the half-time break when he gave the ball which led to McBurnie’s winning goal. However, Martin redeemed by making a good save to deny Lys Mousset.
LM: Robert Snodgrass – 6/10
The English wide player came off the bench and made an immediate impact as he whipped in some inviting crosses for Haller. However, most of his good work went unnoticed after VAR decided to chalk off Haller’s goal.
CAM: Pablo Fornals – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
