Player ratings: West Ham United 3-1 Fulham
Written by George Rossiter on 9th October 2022
George Rossiter assesses the performances of the boys after a second consecutive defeat in the Premier League.
After taking an early lead at the London Stadium, the Whites eventually fell to a controversial defeat after West Ham’s second and third goals came off the hands of Gianluca Scamacca and Michael Antonio on route to finding the net.
Bernd Leno
Made two or three brilliant saves, notably from Scamacca at 1-0, and commanded his box well all game. There was nothing the German could have to done to prevent either of West Ham’s first two goals, and he was arguably unlucky to have got caught up in the mess for the third which landed at the feet of Antonio. 7/10.
Bobby De-Cordova Reid
Embed from Getty ImagesAdapted really well to a more defensive role, playing on the right of a back four. Relentless in covering ground up and down the pitch, creating chances at one end and not being shown up by Fornals or Cresswell at the other. Only slight mistake was staying too far back to play Scamacca onside for the second goal, which is understandable as an attacking player. 7/10.
Tosin
While this was probably Tosin’s best performance on the ball, bringing it into midfield on many occasions and rarely losing it, there needs to be an acknowledgment of the number of times Scamacca managed to win headers on his side of the box, especially considering the height Tosin possesses. 6.5/10.
Tim Ream
Again, not an awful performance, not bad on the ball or in defence, but maybe there has to be a collective word about the centre-back partnership. Both Tosin and Ream have performed well, but Fulham do consistently seem liable to conceding multiple goals on too many occasions. A solution must be found for that, and fast. 6.5/10.
Antonee Robinson
Slotted back in really nicely after a few weeks away. It could’ve been easy for Jedi to lack sharpness following an injury, but he never stopped running up and down his flank, linking up well with both Kebano and James. He’s a vital clog in Marco Silva’s side in the Premier League. 7/10.
Joao Palhinha
Joao’s presence in the side was instantly noticeable in the game, with Fulham looking so much more competitive and combative in the middle of the park as our Portuguese maestro slotted in next to Harrison Reed. The only noticeable deficiency in Palhinha’s game was his passing seemed rusty, frequently floating long balls over the heads of James and Kebano. 6.5/10
Harrison Reed
It’s evident how much the performances of other in the midfield improve when Palhinha is in the side. Reed has so much more freedom to do the role he loves, covering every spot on the pitch, when he knows the quality of Palhinha is sat behind him. 7/10.
Andreas Pereira
Embed from Getty ImagesAdmittedly, Pereira showed a severe lack of discipline in giving away a penalty for the first West Ham goal, but beyond that, his first half performance was brilliant and his goal sublime, a powerful effort from a difficult angle. While his second half faded as the Hammers took control, this was still an overall encouraging performance from the Brazilian. 7.5/10.
Daniel James
James is quick, dangerous one-on-one and gets you on the edge of your seat, but as of yet we’ve not seen what can come as a result of that in a Fulham shirt. It feels like the little Welshman just needs one goal and his confidence will explode in the final third, but it’s yet to come so far. 6/10.
Neeskens Kebano
Neeskens was at his dangerous best at the London Stadium. Kehrer struggled all game to deal with the pace and trickery of the Congolese winger, who was vital in the build up play for the Fulham goal, providing the assist for Pereira. His tracking back, especially to help Decordova-Reid after the early stages, was superb too. 8/10. – Man of the match.
Carlos Vinicius
A fairly quiet full debut for Vinicius, but not bad. The Brazilian showed his strength in holding the ball up and was handy in helping Fulham build play, including playing a role in the goal. There wasn’t much to go off in front of goal, but a lot of that comes down to a lack of service. There’s certainly a lot more to come from the former Spurs striker. 6/10.
Substitutes
Tom Cairney (71’ for Harrison Reed)
The skipper had a really positive impact off the bench, giving the team more of a forward-thinking outlook from midfield, a much more exciting cameo. 7/10.
Josh Onomah (77’ for Andreas Pereira)
The lack of match fitness and sharpness showed, Onomah looked weak and off the pace in his first appearance of the season. 5/10.
Harry Wilson (77’ for Daniel James)
Got up to the speed of the game quicker than Onomah but didn’t have quite enough time to have a lasting impact on the match. 6/10.
Shane Duffy (89’ for Neeskens Kebano)
Came on, went up front, had a (not so) good time. 6/10?
