West Ham United faced off against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park earlier tonight hoping to grab all three points on the road. The Hammers made a sloppy start to the game as they conceded the opening goal in the third minute when Wilfried Zaha found the back of the net. However, Tomas Soucek equalised for the away team just six minutes later and then went on to bag another goal in the 25th minute to complete the turnaround for David Moyes’ men. The East Londoners went into the half-time interval 2-1 up on the scoreline.
Craig Dawson put some daylight between the two teams when he got his name on the scoresheet in the 65th minute. Michy Batshuayi scored a late consolation goal for the home side with a poked finish from close range as the contest concluded with the Hammers securing an impressive 3-2 win to go fourth in the Premier League table.
Let’s take a look at how each West Ham player fared during the match against the Eagles.
GK: Łukasz Fabiański – 5.5/10
The West Ham keeper was sloppy when distributing the ball out from the back and ended up conceding two goals this evening. However, he did make a big save early in the second half to keep his side ahead in the game.
RB: Vladimír Coufal – 7/10
Coufal was always at the right place to clear the danger when required and was not shy of making a tackle as well. He also created one good chance in the final third.
CB: Craig Dawson – 7/10
He pulled off a few crucial clearances on the defensive end of the pitch and scored the decisive third goal for his team in the second half, which ended up making the difference.
CB: Angelo Ogbonna – 6/10
The Hammers centre-back made a couple of important interceptions during the game but won’t be pleased after shipping in two poor goals at the back.
LB: Aaron Cresswell – 6.5/10
Cresswell struggled to give a good account of himself defensively but created a couple of inviting opportunities in the attacking third. He has got an assist to show for his efforts.
CM: Declan Rice – 7/10
The English midfielder stood strong and offered adequate protection for his teammates at the back. Rice was also lively going forward.
CM: Tomas Soucek – 9/10
Soucek worked his socks off to track back and defend when needed. He also scored a brace in the first 45 minutes which gave his teammates the belief to go on and claim the victory.
RW: Jarrod Bowen – 7/10
He had a few bright moments in the game and ended up getting as assist to his name. Bowen ran of energy and got substituted in the second half.
CAM: Said Benrahma – 7.5/10
Benrahma caused all sorts of problems for the Palace defenders and was a real nuisance for them throughout his time on the field.
LW: Pablo Fornals – 7.5/10
He engineered several meaningful openings in the final third and was unfortunate not to get his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Michail Antonio – 8/10
Antonio produced another encouraging display as he caused a lot of headaches for the opposition with his powerful running and clever link-up play.
Substitutes:
RM: Ryan Fredericks – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
ST: Andriy Yarmolenko – N/A
Yarmolenko did not get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
CM: Mark Noble – N/A
The veteran midfielder came off the bench to run the clock down for his team.
