Michail Antonio and Craig Dawson severely underperformed as West Ham United were beaten 1-0 away at the Molineux by Wolves in the Premier League.
West Ham United made a bright start to the encounter, threatening Wolves on the break and even came close to scoring through Jarrod Bowen. However, the hosts gradually grew into the contest and started to create openings, with Raul Jimenez missing a great chance when one-on-one against Lukasz Fabianski, while Nelson Semedo also spurned a big opportunity.
Bruno Lage’s men continued to pile the pressure on West Ham after the break, and it eventually paid off as Jimenez struck a sweet effort just before the hour-mark to hand Wolves the lead. The east London side stepped up after going behind as they pressed for an equaliser. However, they could not muster enough threat to cause Jose Sa any significant problems in the Wolves’ goal.
The home team saw off the rest of the game with comfort to seal a narrow 1-0 victory, thus bringing an end to West Ham United’s recent unbeaten run in the Premier League. With the defeat, West Ham saw the gap to league leaders Chelsea widen to six points after the Blues beat Leicester City earlier on Saturday.
Here is how we rated the performances of David Moyes’ men on a disappointing afternoon at the Molineux.
West Ham United Player Ratings
Lukasz Fabianski: 7/10
The Polish goalkeeper did just about enough to put off Jimenez in the first half when in a 1v1 situation. He made two good saves early in the second half to keep his side in the game, but Fabianski could do nothing about the match-winning goal.
Ben Johnson: 6/10
The young full-back did not do much wrong on the defensive side of things for much of the game. However, Johnson was unable to offer much in the way of attacking contribution on the day, while there were a couple of occasions when he was caught on the ball.
Kurt Zouma: 5.5/10
The ex-Chelsea defender did not do much wrong on the afternoon but seemed to lack that bit of solidity and assurance without the guiding hand of Angelo Ogbonna alongside him. Zouma also had a few issues with the movement of Jimenez.
Craig Dawson: 4/10
Stepping into the side in place of the injured Ogbonna, Dawson was all at sea from the get-go as he struggled to keep up with Jimenez, who beat him and time again in the first half. The defender was lucky not the receive a booking for a foul on the Mexican.
Aaron Cresswell: 5.5/10
The experienced left-back made a crucial block to deny Nelson Semedo a goal in the first half but was dragged out of position leading up to the winning goal for Wolves. He was not his usual self going forward either.
Declan Rice: 6/10
The West Ham United captain fought a lone battle in an attempt to seize control of the midfield battle. Showed good energy and enthusiasm, but the England international was overwhelmed by his Wolves counterparts, while the lack of quality support did not help matters.
Tomas Soucek: 5/10
Another West Ham player who was well below his best on the afternoon, Soucek never really got going against Wolves as most of the game passed him by without the midfielder making any notable impact.
Jarrod Bowen: 5/10
Bowen should have put West Ham in front when he sent an effort from a great position wide. The ex-Hull City starlet did not pose much of a threat beyond that, though, as Wolves were in firm control of the proceedings.
Said Benrahma: 5/10
The Algerian playmaker had a couple of bright moments on the ball, but he was largely ineffective in the final third. He did not create many chances while he was also guilty of giving away possession cheaply on occasions.
Pablo Fornals: 5/10
Not good enough from the Spaniard, who often took up deeper positions which limited his impact going forward. He faded as the game wore on and was subbed off soon after the hosts’ goal.
Michail Antonio: 4/10
The Player to Watch in our match preview, Antonio endured an afternoon to forget in Black Country. While the Jamaican international did make a few good runs, he hardly posed a goal threat and was a spectator for large parts of the contest. Has now scored just one goal in eight games for the Hammers.
SUBSTITUTES
Manuel Lanzini: 5.5/10
The Argentine replaced Fornals just before the hour mark. He livened things up somewhat but could not spark a comeback.
Nikola Vlasic: 5.5/10
Given the final twenty minutes, the former Everton star played a few good-looking passes but hardly made a notable impact.
Andriy Yarmolenko: 5/10
Replaced Bowen in the 71st minute. Did little of note.
