West Ham fell to an agonising 2-1 defeat away at Liverpool on Sunday, despite thinking they had gained a point late in the game.
Luis Diaz put Liverpool ahead in the first half after getting on the end of an excellent Mohamed Salah cross, as Ollie Scarles struggled to deal with him.
Graham Potter’s men got much more into the game after the break, with an Andy Robertson own goal levelling the scores, before Virgil van Dijk headed home the winner minutes later.
Here, West Ham Zone has rated the players out of 10…
Aaron Wan-Bissaka MOTM against Liverpool
Alphonse Areola – 4
Although he did concede, Areola pulled off some good saves too. Four saves in the game [FotMob] show how he coped under pressure from Liverpool. However, he should have done better with van Dijk’s header, taking too long to react.
Max Kilman – 6
Kilman probably should have been helping Scarles out a bit more given he was up against Salah on the afternoon. However, the 27-year-old performed 16 defensive actions, pulling off 10 clearances and doing what he could to keep the opponents out.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5
Mavropanos missed a big chance for the Hammers as they tried to get themselves into the game with a goal. The defender won zero per cent of tackles, too.
Jean-Clair Todibo (off for Luis Guilherme, 77′) – 5
Fairly uninspiring stuff from Todibo against tough opponents. The Frenchman lost the majority of his duels and won 50 per cent of his tackles, suggesting he did struggle somewhat.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 8
Wan-Bissaka carried on his impressive run of form for West Ham with a solid performance against Liverpool. Like most of his side, it was a bit of a slow start to the game but he did step up his standards in the second half and got stuck into the game pulling off plenty of actions for his side.
Carlos Soler (off for Niclas Fullkrug, 77′) – 5
In a game against tough opponents, it’s always going to be tricky to get stuck into the game too much and Soler felt somewhat invisible at times. However, he did win the majority of his duels and tried to stay in the game.
James Ward-Prowse – 6
Ward-Prowse took a bit of time to get going for the Irons, but his experience shone through, and he put in a solid display, getting stuck into the clash.
Scarles struggles against Salah
Ollie Scarles (off for Vladimir Coufal, 56′) – 3
You have to feel for Scarles a bit going up against Salah in such a difficult game and the 19-year-old certainly struggled with that. The youngster continued to try and get stuck into the game but it was not his easiest afternoon. When Potter brought him off early into the second half, it felt like a move that was needed to protect him.
Mohammed Kudus – 6
A slow first half, but Kudus stepped up a bit in the second half. Still didn’t do enough at the top end of the pitch, though, with his final product.
Kudus also lost the most duels in the game, but did show his willingness to turn things around, which could push him further towards an exit from West Ham in the summer.
Lucas Paqueta – 7
The Brazilian may be struggling away from the football pitch as he awaits the outcome of his trial, but he did not let that show on the pitch. Paqueta made his experience count and got stuck in, winning the majority of his duels and showing what he can do. His only negative came when trying to buy a foul late on, which led to the corner and the Van Dijk goal.
Jarrod Bowen – 6
Bowen is always a reliable man for the Hammers although he took a bit of time to get going against Liverpool. The Reds defence did not make his job easy but of the few chances he had, nothing felt dangerous.
Had a decent chance in the second half after a well-timed run but a shot straight at Alisson Becker was never enough.
Substitutions
Vladimir Coufal (on for Ollie Scarles, 56′) – 6
Coufal did cope better than Scarles did showing Potter made the right decision to bring him on in the second half although he produced nothing spectacular for his side either.
Niclas Fullkrug (on for Carlos Soler, 77′) – N/A
Luis Guilherme (on for Jean-Clair Todibo, 77′) – N/A
