West Ham United Player Ratings vs Watford: 9/10 Bowen shines; Solid Soucek gets 8

West Ham United got back to winning ways as they swept Watford aside with Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen starring in the victory.

David Moyes must be relieved after a positive result came his way, following a few that went against his side in recent weeks. The Hammers responded to their Boxing Day defeat to Southampton with a convincing 4-1 win over struggling Watford, who gave them a few problems early on.

Emmanuel Dennis opened the scoring for Watford after some questionable defending from the West Ham players. The Nigerian was patient and waited for the right moment to put the shot beyond Lukasz Fabianski’s reach. However, as on Boxing Day, the Hammers responded well as they exploited Watford’s silly mistakes at the back to level things through Tomas Soucek.

Said Benrahma did not take long to give his side the lead after taking advantage of some good work from Michail Antonio to smash home from close range. Later, Mark Noble, who had a terrific game, put the Hammers well beyond Watford’s reach with a well-taken penalty close to the hour mark.

Jarrod Bowen saw a goal disallowed due to a foul by Soucek in the build-up, which was rather harsh as it was just a soft challenge. However, the attacker got his reward with a second assist late in the game as he squared the ball to Nikola Vlasic to finish off Watford. Here’s how the West Ham players fared in their win over Watford.

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Lukasz Fabianski – 6.5/10

Fabianski had a decent outing making some valuable saves in the second half, and kept out shots from Josh King and Moussa Sissoko. Those stops kept West Ham’s lead intact and eventually played a key role in the win. The Pole couldn’t do much about Dennis’ goal, which was beyond his reach.

Vladimir Coufal – 7/10

Coufal played well on the evening, keeping the Watford defenders on his flank rather busy. He kept peppering the box with some good crosses and creating decent chances.

Craig Dawson – 6/10

Dawson had a difficult time early in the game as Dennis got the better of him for the opening strike. However, he recovered well and put up a dominant performance at the back.

Issa Diop – 6/10

He looked a bit tired from the start given the busy run of fixtures, and it was evident in the mistakes he made. Diop did improve in the second period and kept things tight at the back.

Ben Johnson – 6.5/10

The unusual position did not matter to johnson, who looked assured at left-back. He did play a more defensive game today than his usual forays into the attacking third from the right side. Moyes seems to have got another good option for left-back until Aaron Cresswell returns from injury.

Mark Noble – 7.5/10

A fantastic game for the West Ham captain, who was calm in midfield ensuring that the team did not miss Declan Rice. Scored a penalty, which took him joint-second on West Ham’s all-time top scorer charts.

Tomas Soucek – 8/10

As Noble provided the security in midfield, Soucek played a more adventurous game and got his reward with a well-taken goal, which was created more due to his movements. This was certainly one of his best performances this season.

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Manuel Lanzini – 7/10

Lanzini bagged another good performance since reclaiming his spot in the team recently. A very busy customer, the Argentine looked dangerous and created some chances whenever he had the ball at his feet.

Jarrod Bowen – 9/10

Bowen’s two assists and a disallowed goal made for a tremendous performance from the attacker. He was back in his favoured right-wing position and put in a game-changing display after being somewhat subdued in the last few matches.

Said Benrahma – 7.5/10

He will be severely missed by Moyes when the AFCON starts. Benrahma put in a good performance, hitting the bar once and then scoring a well-taken goal to give West Ham the lead in the game for the first time.

Michail Antonio – 7/10

A dynamic performance from Antonio, who started a game after some time out. He gave the Watford defence all sorts of problems and created the goal for Benrahma, which gave his side the lead.

Substitutes

Arthur Masuaku – 6/10

He came on for Johnson and slotted in well at the back to give some defensive solidity as the Hammers protect their lead.

Nikola Vlasic – 6/10

He joined the party by replacing Benrahma and got on the scoresheet late in injury time to get his first goal in a West Ham shirt.

Alex Kral – N/A

Not involved much after a late substitution.