The Hammers kicked the New Year off with a big win as West Ham’s top scorer, Tomas Soucek, scored the first Premier League goal of 2021 to overcome a runaway Everton side in a tight game at Goodison Park.
Here’s how the players performed.
Embed from Getty ImagesEverton
Jordon Pickford – 5
Embed from Getty ImagesEngland’s number one faced fived shots on target but he had little to do in-between the sticks for Everton. He did make a few decent saves and was unfortunate to concede to Soucek’s effort.
Ben Godfrey – 4
Being thrown in at left-back was harsh on Godfrey and he really struggled to contain Jarrod Bowen and Vladimir Coufal down the right-hand side of the pitch.
Mason Holgate – 4
Not a lot troubled Holgate but he did allow West Ham’s attackers to run off him and drop into the pockets of space he created which caused problems for his side. He also failed to release the ball quickly in the transition from deference to attack.
Yerry Mina – 5
Being the more physical of the two, Mina’s job was to contain Sebastien Haller which he did to good effect. Like his defensive partner though he failed to distribute the ball quickly which led to Everton’s stagnant football.
Seamus Coleman – 4
Both full-backs really struggled against West Ham’s wingers and didn’t get a chance to go forward, Coleman is normally so effective on the overlap.
Tom Davies – 4
Davies really failed to fill the gap created by the absent Allan. The driving runs the Brazilian normally makes is so crucial to Everton’s transition and we saw none of that from Davies contributing to Everton’s stale play.
Embed from Getty ImagesAbdoulaye Doucoure – 4
The Frenchman really struggled to form a partnership with his midfield confidant, Davies, and failed to supply Everton’s creative players.
Richalrison – 4
After returning from injury, we really expected the likes of Richarlison to offer some dangerous attacking threat but he looked very poor and created nothing in the final-third.
Embed from Getty ImagesGylfi Sigurdsson – 4
Wait a minute… Sigurdsson was playing. I’m not sure too many people would have noticed as he created all but nothing for the Toffees leading to his sixty-fifth minute substitution.
Bernard – 5
Despite creating little, if anyone looked like getting Everton back into the contest it was Bernard. His shot before half-time was the only other shot on target for the Blues on the night.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5
When he faced the Irons in the cup just a month or so ago, DCL bagged an empathic hattrick. Tonight he just didn’t get going but he was offered pretty little in terms of service by his side and West Ham defended well to contain him.
Embed from Getty ImagesSUBSTITUTES
James Rodriguez – 5
This game was destined for a creative player to breakdown a strong Claret defence but with just twenty-five minutes on the pitch, Rodriguez struggled to show the attacking flair we have seen so often from him this season.
Andre Gomes – 5
Everton did look a bit better when Gomes came on as he he tried to drive his team forward, something Davies failed to do. But his efforts came up short.
Cenk Tosun – 3
Three may seem a little harsh but the man hasn’t scored in over a year and that showed in this game. He offered nothing to the creative minds of Rodriguez and Richarlison and had DCL stayed on, perhaps we would have another headline.
West Ham
Darren Randolph – 5
He was thrown in at the deep end, he knew he was playing just eleven minutes from kick-off, but he dealt with it well. He had little to do but was alert to Bernard’s effort to make the save.
Aaron Cresswell – 6
Once again the left-back proved pivotal to the Hammers performance as his deflected shot found it’s way to Soucek to grab the winner. He defended fairly well but his attacking play left Everton pinned in.
Angelo Ogbonna – 8 (MY MAN OF THE MATCH)
The Italian Stallion strikes again as Ogbonna added another striker to his pocket offering DCL not even a sight of the West Ham goal. Against a physical Everton team, Oggy was strong in the air and defiant in defence.
Embed from Getty ImagesCraig Dawson – 6
The veteran defender added a second clean sheet in two games to his resume as he quietly and effectively went about his business tonight in thwarting Everton’s attack.
Valadimir Coufal – 5
Always a solid player for the Irons and he showed that once again tonight. He did struggle to create any offensive chances however, something he is normally very effective at.
Declan Rice – 7
The game was won in midfield tonight and Rice was a commanding figure in that midfield. The West Ham captain had an eloquent balance of ball distribution and defensive duties. West Ham may not want him to play too well however as the January transfer window is now open and Chelsea are bound to be sniffing about.
Tomas Soucek – 8
Rice may get all the limelight but his midfield partner Soucek deserves just as much credit. The big man was strong against a physical Everton side, broke up play well and was on hand to pop up with a much needed goal for the Irons. His secret, potato salad apparently.
Pablo Fornals – 4
Perhaps I’m being slightly harsh on Pablo here but I don’t think he played a great game. In all fairness he isn’t a winger and worked hard to support Cresswell down the left-flank but he offered fairly little creatively and missed a huge chance to put the Hammers in-front as his glancing five-yard header went well wide of the post.
Embed from Getty ImagesSaid Benrahma – 5
The masterful Algerian was on his toes all day against Everton and drove the team forward with intricate dribbling and key passes. He has more to show but it was a decent performance for the number ten.
Jarrod Bowen – 6
Once again, Bowen proved to be one of the best creative players on the pitch for the Hammers. He came close to getting on the end of Cresswell’s cross for a guaranteed goal and was a constant threat on the right-side of the pitch.
Sebastien Haller – 5
I thought Haller had a pretty good game, he held the ball up well and worked hard for the team. It may have been harsh to sub him off in all fairness but you can understand Moyes wanting to bring on Antonio. In a game where everyone struggled for chances, Haller provided support rather than goals for his teammates.
SUBSTITUTES
Michail Antonio – 5
I am tempted to give Antonio a better score but I think a five is deserved. He offered a different service to Haller, running in-behind the Everton defence and driving forward with pace and strength. He could’ve scored but he will just be happy to be back running around after a lengthy injury.
Embed from Getty ImagesManuel Lanzini – 5
On for the last fifteen-minutes, Lanzini did nothing wrong but there’s not a lot he did that you can commend him for.
Andriy Yarmolenko – 6
It was the Ukrainian’s crucial, chipped ball which started the events leading to Soucek’s goal and Yarmo looked just as dangerous on the right as the man he replaced, Bowen.
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