West Ham’s lightweight who lost 75% duels was worse than Ogbonna vs Olympiacos 
It wasn’t just Ogbonna who endured a difficult night in the Europa League on Thursday night…
West Ham United’s record-breaking 17-match unbeaten run in Europe came to a disappointing end against Olympiacos after crashing to a 2-1 defeat on Thursday night.
The Hammers fell behind inside 33 minutes as Konstantinos Fortunis opened the scoring and their lead was doubled when Angelo Ogbonna sliced the ball into the back of his own net just before half-time.
After a disastrous first half, which was described by The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas as “poor”, the visitors gave themselves a mountain to climb in the second and although a thunderous strike from substitute Lucas Paqueta in the 87th minute restored hope of a comeback, it was one that proved too steep.
David Moyes was ultimately punished for making seven changes to side the side that was thrashed 4-1 by Aston Villa on Sunday but given the hectic fixture schedule, he was almost forced into giving his fringe players a run-out, and they failed to make a positive impression.
One of those who put in a villainous display on the night was that man Ogbonna.
Angelo Ogbonna’s performance against Olympiacos
Ogbonna endured a nightmare return to the starting XI on Thursday night as a comical own goal compounded a miserable performance all round for the Hammers.
The Italian had the chance to give Moyes food for thought ahead of their upcoming fixtures by putting in a stellar display. Instead, the 35-year-old did the opposite, perhaps showing his age in what was a shambolic performance.
Aside from being near faultless in possession by successfully completing 94% of his attempted passes, he deeply let West Ham down in a defensive capacity and was constantly caught out of position.
According to Sofascore, the former Juventus defender won none of his two ground duels, was dribbled past once and made zero tackles while also showing his ill-discipline by picking up a yellow card for his troubles.
If the stage was set for Ogbonna to put in a positive display, he crumbled under the pressure and has now given himself the difficult task of breaking back into the Scotsman’s plans.
While the Italian was the ultimate villain from a defensive point of view, Pablo Fornals hardly set the world alight in an attacking sense, with the fleet-footed Spaniard not having his best game in claret and blue.
Pablo Fornals statistics against Olympiacos
Fornals has only started one game for West Ham in the Premier League this season – the opening day draw against Bournemouth – and on the evidence of his performance against Olympiacos, it is clear to see why Moyes prefers to play the talented Paqueta over him on the left flank.
The aforementioned Thomas noted that his performance was “disappointing” and that couldn’t be any closer to the truth, with the 27-year-old showing he’s a liability both in and out of possession, notably losing the ball nine times and enjoying a pass accuracy of just 72% – while also winning just one of his four total duels.
Such shortcomings in possession could well have been costly for the visitors and it wasn’t a surprise to see West Ham rediscover their attacking vigour when he was hooked by his manager in the 57th minute and replaced by the eventual goalscorer, Paqueta.
That dismal showing saw Fornals ultimately record a meagre match rating of just 6.5, as per Sofascore, with that same as the lacklustre Ogbonna achieved from his defensive berth.
Having put in a lightweight and lethargic performance that cost the Hammers dearly, the Spaniard can count himself lucky that Moyes’ squad is thin on the ground, giving him the opportunity to potentially redeem himself in the home fixture against the Greek outfit.
