Hammers big problem was their missing man

Match verdict by Hughie Southon

West Ham’s  big problem today was the absence of Manu Lanzini as  a creative and tremendously hard working presence in midfield.

The reality is now clear – Said Benrahma is not a great replacement for the little Argentine who has become a serious team player over recent weeks but sadly will be unavailable on Thursday evening through suspension.

Manu’s horrible motoring problems both on the road last week and in court some days earlier, where he pleaded guilty to a couple of offences, saw him ruled out of todays game.

He had several bruises as a result of the car in which he was being driven flipping on the A12 and maybe mentally he wasn’t ready for the game either/

Whereas Manu has become a real team player rather than an individualist creative force, he has seriously looked the part in this Hammers team whereas Benrahma still looks a guy who likes to go for glory with pot shots which regularly look relatively harmless.

Manu will find a killer pass behind the defence, Benny will attempt a dribble and  a stepover- the difference between the pair is growing by the game and showed big time today.

Elsewhere, Jarrod Bowen looked on the case and will have benefitted enormously from his 70 minutes  ahead of Lyon whilst I fully expect Mikey to cause the French team the same problems as he did Sevilla.

The Everton win was incredibly important; Brentford next week looks a serious banana skin after their win at Chelsea if we are not very careful and Burnley need to be beaten next Sunday.

The game is still on and players are coming back at the right time.

COYI