Lopetegui must drop 5/10 West Ham star who lost the ball 11 times
da 888casino： Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham drew 1-1 with Bournemouth, with late drama between the sides leading to a thrilling end on Monday evening.
da bwin： The Spanish coach clearly tweaked his game plan against the Cherries in order to avoid their pressing traps, playing slightly more direct, looking to miss out the midfield pivot and win second balls closer to the box.
A late penalty call for a controversial handball saw the Hammers take a 1-0 lead in the 87th minute through Lucas Paqueta. But just three minutes later, Enes Unal smashed the equaliser home with a wonderful freekick.
West Ham remain 14th in the Premier League despite picking up four points in their last two games, and whilst results have picked up in their last few fixtures, the performances have still left a lot to be desired.
West Ham's best performers vs Bournemouth
Having said that, against Bournemouth, there were a few good performances, one of which was the performance of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, making eight saves, six of them coming from inside the box.
Another top performer was the goalscorer, Paqueta, who not only slotted away the penalty, but also made three key passes, took three shots (one on target), and had 51 touches.
Defender Max Kilman was another performance worth mentioning, making five blocks, three tackles, winning three of his five ground duels, winning five of his seven aerial duels, and making six of his 13 long balls attempted.
But alongside these good performances, there was a poor one that needs to be addressed, as Lopetegui now has a decision to make on whether to drop this man or not.
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Edson Alvarez's performance v Bournemouth
Edson Alvarez has made 14 appearances this season, receiving four yellow cards and two red cards in 843 minutes played. The Mexican midfielder was given a 5/10 match rating for his performance by The Standard, with a few poor mistakes bringing his score down on Monday evening.
The 27-year-old played 75 minutes against the Cherries, losing possession 11 times, failing both of his long ball attempts and completing just 76% of his passes (32/42).
Edson Alvarez vs Bournemouth
Stat
Alvarez
Minutes
75
Touches
49
Accurate Passes
32/42
Long Balls
0/2
Shots
1
Successful Dribble Attempts
2/2
Ground Duels Won
2/3
Aerial Duels Won
2/3
Possession Lost
11
Stats taken from Sofascore
Alvarez was tasked with dropping between the two central defenders on the ball for West Ham, as they looked to bypass the middle of the pitch, playing long balls into the front line, and winning second balls. However, the Mexico international put his side under pressure at times, losing the ball 11 times, and missing both of those long ball attempts.
In terms of winning his duels, he did win four out of six both ground and aerial, but when he was the main source of protection in front of the defensive line, the fact he only competed in six duels in his 75 minutes, is a different problem of its own, which can again begin to highlight some slight mobility issues in the West Ham midfield.
Since joining the club last summer, with the aim of replacing Declan Rice, the 27-year-old defensive midfielder has struggled to provide consistency in the middle of the park for the Hammers, and now Lopetegui has a big decision on his hands regarding his place in the team, especially as his job is far from secure.
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