Manuel Pellegrini
Manuel Pellegrini received the perfect birthday present as West Ham United picked up their first win of the season, with a 3-1 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. The game also marked the end of Everton’s unbeaten run in the Premier League, as the Toffees suffered their first defeat under new manager Marco Silva.
Pellegrini made quite a few changes to the line-up that faced Wolverhampton Wanderers last week and his changes paid the dividends. Andriy Yarmolenko, who made his first start of the season, put the Hammers ahead in the 11th minute.
West Ham continued their dominance and Yarmolenko doubled their lead in the 31st minute, with a curling left-foot effort from the edge of the box.
Silva pulled out his trump card and replaced Morgan Schneiderlin with Bernard just before half-time and the tactical masterstroke produced immediate results as Gylfi Sigurdsson headed in Jonjoe Kenny’s cross from the right.
Everton pushed for an equalizer in the second half but Marko Arnautovic put the game virtually beyond the home team’s reach with a clinical finish. Substitute Oumar Niasse had a couple of good opportunities but could not get the Toffees back in the game as West Ham defended with determination to hold on to their lead.
Lukasz Fabianski (8/10)
The veteran Polish international put in a fantastic shift between the sticks, making some good saves in the first half. He produced the save of the match to deny Cenk Tosun and looked good while handling crosses.
Pablo Zabaleta (6.5/10)
The former Manchester City man had a decent game and looked quite composed with his positioning at the back. Although he struggled to cope with the pace, he put in a tidy performance.
Fabian Balbuena (6.5/10)
The Paraguayan showed good signs of improvement and was better with his positioning. He did make a few mistakes but managed to keep things tight with some blocks.
Issa Diop (7/10)
The new signing put in a much-improved performance in the heart of the defence and made some important blocks and interceptions near the penalty area.
Arthur Masuaku (6.5/10)
He put in a solid performance at the back and looked good with his positioning. He struggled against Jonjoe Kenny at times but surged forward with pace and tried to make things happen.
Declan Rice (8/10)
Arguably one of the best players on the pitch today, the young Irishman did a fantastic job in his deep midfield role. He made some good tackles and interceptions and denied Everton the space to cause problems. Rice’s movement and passing provided the perfect shield for the rearguard.
Felipe Anderson (6.5/10)
The Brazilian had a decent game and posed a reasonable threat going forward. He was good with his link-up play in the final third and caught the eye with some wonderful dribbles.
Pedro Obiang (8.5/10)
A wonderful all-around performance by the central midfielder. He played a part in the build to Yarmolenko’s first goal and showed good awareness to set up Arnautovic for West Ham’s third goal. He kept the ball moving in the midfield and broke up the opposition’s play with some crucial interceptions.
Mark Noble (6.5/10)
The veteran midfielder put in a decent shift in the centre of the park. He did not make too many mistakes and held on to the ball to add stability to the midfield.
Andriy Yarmolenko (9/10)
A brilliant performance by the Ukrainian in his first start of the season. He was clinical with his finishing to put West Ham ahead and then followed it up with another screamer with his left foot from the edge of the box.
Marko Arnautovic (9/10)
The Austrian was quite lively in the final third and showed good understanding with Obiang to set up Yarmolenko for the first goal. He combined with Obiang once again in the second half and scored West Ham’s third goal with a clinical finish.
Carlos Sanchez (6/10)
The Colombian came on for Mark Noble quite late in the game. He looked a little sloppy but added solidity to the midfield with some interceptions.
Michail Antonio (5.5/10)
Came on for Arnautovic after West Ham’s third goal but struggled to get himself into the game. He did not do much with the ball at his feet and wasn’t impressive.
Robert Snodgrass (5.5/10)
Came on for Yarmolenko and did not have much time to make an impact. Got booked for a lunge on Bernard.
