Fewer touches than Areola: 3/10 West Ham star now has to be dropped. West Ham United started brightly against Tottenham Hotspur earlier today, taking the lead through Mohammed Kudus, but Spurs equalised before half-time. With the tie finely poised, Julen Lopetegui knew that a confident display in the second half would allow the club to secure just their third Premier League win of the season, but the visitors collapsed.
The Irons conceded three unanswered goals during the second period – with that man Kudus also seeing red late on as Spurs ran riot – and the pressure is now firmly building on Lopetegui. The vast majority of the starting XI was poor throughout, yet it was Lucas Paqueta who delivered arguably one of the worst performances in the side.
West Ham’s worst performer vs Spurs
The Brazilian hasn’t been at his best all season, scoring just twice in nine matches for the Irons, as it looks like Lopetegui is failing to bring out the best in the former Lyon man this term.
Against Spurs, Paqueta lasted just 61 minutes before being subbed off. During his time on the pitch, he took fewer touches than goalkeeper Alphonse Areola (31 vs 50), completed only 15 passes and made just one key pass, offering next to nothing going forward.
Defensively, he was even worse. The midfielder lost possession nine times, lost nine of his 12 contested duels, committed two fouls and was dribbled past once.
Overall, it was a dreadful display by a player who should have been the one making things happen for West Ham. He was even given a match rating of just 3/10 by Claret and Hugh, indicating how poor he was against Spurs.
The South American star could well find himself dropped for the next game by Lopetegui. The question is, who replaces him in the starting XI?
The player who could replace Paqueta
Against Spurs, Paqueta was replaced by Edson Alvarez. The Mexican is a more defensive-minded midfielder, but this could be the way Lopetegui goes from now on due to the concerns defensively of the squad.
Carlos Soler was another who came off the bench, and he could be perfect as a replacement for the Brazilian ahead of West Ham’s clash against Manchester United next Sunday.
Much will depend on the system the Spaniard wishes to utilise from now on, as against Spurs, his 4-1-4-1 didn’t exactly work how he would have wanted it to.
This could see Paqueta dropped to the bench, with either Alvarez or Soler coming into the starting XI, offering some more defensive solidity in the heart of the midfield.
Three points will need to be won sooner rather than later, otherwise, Lopetegui’s position may soon become untenable.
Judging by the nature of the defeat to Spurs, many of the supporters have certainly lost faith in a manager who looked like he could take them to new heights upon his arrival a few months ago.
