West Ham United will rue the two dropped points in their goalless stalemate against Burnley at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Sunday.
After beating Chelsea in the previous matchday, getting three points at Turf Moor would have been the minimum expectation from West Ham fans. Instead, their team dropped two valuable points and endured a tough evening in Lancashire. The results keep the Hammers in fourth, and Burnley stuck in 18th on the Premier League table.
The Hammers kept the pressure on Burnley throughout the contest and came close to scoring on multiple occasions. Nick Pope made a brilliant save from an Issa Diop header in the first period, following which the Burnley keeper had a relatively quiet half.
Pope had to wait until late in the second period for the Hammers to threaten his goal again, as Declan Rice clipped the crossbar. West Ham were adapting to the tight defensive situation created by the Clarets, as they stitched together a few moves to build play up, but the final ball was lacking.
Burnley stood their ground and earned the point, which will certainly benefit them in their battle for survival from the drop. As for the Hammers, they will look at this result as two dropped points, opening the door for Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal, who are lurking close behind. Here’s how West Ham players fared in their stalemate against Burnley at Turf Moor.
Lukasz Fabianski – 6/10
Burnley could manage just the one shot on target, which meant that it was a comfortable and quiet evening in the goal for Fabianski.
Vladimir Coufal – 5.5/10
Coufal showed plenty of defensive awareness to combat the threat posed by Dwight McNeil and Jay Rodriguez on his side. His contribution going forward on the right flank was lacking though and needs improvement.
Craig Dawson – 7/10
Put in a good shift at the back, thwarting the physical presence of Chris Wood to good effect. Dawson never put a foot wrong the whole game, even in some moments of pressure.
Issa Diop – 6.5/10
He was defensively sound at the back and almost put the Hammers ahead with a brilliant header, which was saved expertly by Pope in the first half. Proved his resilience in the face of the physical strikers Burnley put out in front.
Arthur Masuaku – 6.5/10
Masuaku was a constant threat from the left-hand side, as Moyes decided to start him at left-back. He made decent runs into the final third and proved a constant menace out wide.
Tomas Soucek – 6/10
He was tasked with winning the physical midfield battles and did what was asked of him. Won plenty of aerial duels while always making himself available as a passing option to his teammates to receive the ball and play it forward.
Declan Rice – 8/10
Declan Rice’s game by numbers vs. Burnley:
70 total touches
82.7% pass accuracy
19 final third passes attempted
15 final third passes completed
10 ball recoveries
4 take-ons attempted
3 take-ons completed
2 fouls wonUnbelievably consistent. ? pic.twitter.com/JNGT9K3slc
— Dan Woffenden (@danwoff98) December 12, 2021
A brilliant display from Rice, who covered a lot of ground while being the midfield general for his side. While expertly protecting the back four, the midfielder was also key to West Ham’s build-up play and made some driving runs into the final third.
Manuel Lanzini – 5/10
Wasn’t entirely anonymous during the game as he floated around trying to find space and create chances. However, Lanzini could do nothing impactful in the end, as Burnley marked him well.
Jarrod Bowen – 5/10
He failed to influence the game in the final third despite a hard-working display on the flank. Never looked like he could create something on the evening, as he found it difficult the break down the Burnley defence.
Michail Antonio – 6/10
Linked up play well with his fellow attackers as usual, but Antonio again failed to make a telling contribution from within the box. He has now gone seven games without scoring a Premier League goal, which should be a concern for the striker.
Said Benrahma – 6/10
For most parts, he buzzed around the box, trying to find space or a teammate to ping balls into. But, Benrahma will be disappointed nothing came out of his hard-working display on the evening as the Hammers dropped two valuable points.
Substitutes
Nikola Vlasic – 5/10
Moyes tried to break down the Clarets defence with a different option in Vlasic, but the move failed to yield the desired result.
Pablo Fornals – 5/10
The Spaniard was the best bet to change things around for West Ham. But like everyone else, he too found it hard to get going in front of the Burnley backline.
