West Ham United fell to a third defeat in the last four matches last night, as Arne Slot’s Liverpool claimed a 5-1 win at Anfield.
The Hammers exited the Carabao Cup at the third round stage, losing against the same opposition for the second season in a row by the same scoreline.
Julen Lopetegui will undoubtedly be a man under pressure after the defeat, with his side’s poor start to the new campaign casting serious doubt over the Spaniard’s long-term future at the club.
After taking the lead just 21 minutes in after Jarell Quansah’s own goal, the Hammers had the perfect opportunity to build on the early goal and potentially cause a cup upset.
However, it wasn’t to be with numerous first-team members producing disastrous performances but a couple did manage to impress despite the cup exit.
West Ham’s best performers against Liverpool
In what was a disappointing display for West Ham last night, a number of players can take credit despite the defeat – producing some admirable performances considering the circumstances.
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski may have conceded five goals, but it could’ve been a lot more had it not been for the former Poland international, with the 39-year-old making six saves during the outing at Anfield.
He registered a 70% pass completion rate as he tried to build from the back, but unfortunately, he was unable to prevent the Hammers from an early cup exit.
New addition Carlos Soler started his first game after joining on loan from PSG during the recent transfer window, staking his claim for a regular starting role at the London Stadium.
The 27-year-old featured for 78 minutes last night, completing 13 of the 17 passes he attempted whilst also winning five of the six duels he entered during the defeat.
The Spaniard also won two tackles and made one interception, making him the perfect box-to-box option for the Hammers. However, despite his impressive first start, one other first-team member failed to cover himself in glory on Merseyside last night.
The West Ham player who failed to impress last night
Right-back Vladimir Coufal started his first game in nearly a month against Liverpool last night, with Lopetegui handing him the perfect opportunity to showcase why he deserves to start over new addition Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
However, the Czech Republic international failed to shine at the back for the Hammers, producing a dismal display and looking past his best during the heavy defeat.
The 32-year-old featured for the entirety of the contest, losing three duels, whilst also losing possession 11 times – an average of once every eight minutes.
Minutes played
90
Touches
52
Passes completed
24/28 (86%)
Duels lost
3
Possession lost
11x
Fouls conceded
1
Coufal also conceded one foul, with both of the goals in stoppage time coming from Cody Gakpo, as he cut inside of the Czech defender before slotting home on both occasions.
He was subsequently handed a 5/10 match rating by The Standard’s Dom Smith, highlighting how much of a disappointing display he produced at Anfield.
The full-back looked off the pace, getting beaten far too easily on numerous occasions, further proving why Lopetegui made the right call to replace him with Wan-Bissaka.
He needs to be dropped ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Brentford, with the Hammers desperately needing a win to kick-start Lopetegui’s first season at the helm for the East London outfit.
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The Hammers fell to yet another crushing defeat last night.
1 ByEthan LambSep 26, 2024