Gonzo hands out the marks
Fabianski:6 Clearly under instruction to hoof the ball upfield which resulted in numerous Newcastle attacks. Made a comfortable save from Wilson which was straight at him.
Kehrer:4 Should have done better for the first goal. Impressed with a couple of very good 50/50 challenges but ultimately struggled.
Ogbonna:7 Outpaced for Wilson’s opener. Given a really tough test by a very quick Newcastle side. Recovered well with some commanding headers and interceptions.
Aguerd:9 Another quality display and got the flick-on for Paqueta’s goal. Definitely a threat in the air and could have scored twice. A world class tackle denied Wilson a certain goal.
Coufal:7 Defended with tenacity and concentration. One of the few players who didn’t wilt under the early Newcastle onslaught. A tough day at the office and was dribbled past on numerous occasions. Good freekick delivery which Aguerd headed over.
Emerson:7 Nutmegged early in the game but fortunately the subsequent goal was ruled out by VAR. Given a torrid time as West Ham retreated further back. Not too bad in possession and produced some good driving runs.
Rice:9 Tried his absolute hardest against swarm after swarm of Newcastle attacks. Looked every inch an international player. Outstanding.
Paqueta:8 Lost possession in midfield as Newcastle scored their opener. Had a good chance and forced a corner and scored from the resulting delivery. Performed remarkably well given the pace of the game.
Bowen:6 Always up against two men and unable to impact proceedings in the first half. Picked up a knock but battled on.
Benrahma:5 Missed West Ham’s best chance of the half following good work from Antonio & Rice. Missed a string of key passes and made poor decisions.
Antonio:6 Fit and firing. Was a little shell-shocked by Newcastle’s rapid start but battled well.
Johnson:7 Half-time substitution for Kehrer and immediately made a clearance. Instant improvement.
Fornals: 73rd min sub for Benrahma.
Soucek: Came on to replace Lucas Paqueta.
Danny Ings: On for the last 10 mins to replace Michail Antonio.
Downes: 90th min sub to waste some precious time.
A really encouraging performance against team unbeaten since November.
Aguerd and Paqueta showing they are great additions now they have had decent game time. Onwards to Chelsea game!
Much better performance, far better with the ball and some good pressing. I think we deserved a win despite the usual less possession. Benrama weak link with Fornals no improvement.
We desperately need a stronger running more direct player down the left. Emerson showed ìt on a few occasions. Maybe Cornet is the man when fit
4? Bit harsh on Kehrer, he wasn’t the only defender on the pitch for the goal.
Yeah but he’s German. Don’t mention the war! LOL
Two players stood out for me for wrong reasons.
Benrahma – The ultimate unreliable player, bar none. The very occasional flourish is punctuated by the usual dross of pointless dribbling, misplaced passing, aimless crossing and inability to release a good early ball. Sadly, he’ll almost definitely come good in another team.
Antonio – The big man is surely well past it. He can no longer out-pace or out-muscle defenders; his first touches typically bounce five yards off his chest and, more often than not, his misplaced passes stop counter attacks in their track.
A very special mention for Aguerd – man of the match performance for a very stylish centre back; its a joy to watch. Coufal stood his ground well against Saint-Maximin and his free-kick nearly handed Aguerd a goal. Rice is classy and committed as ever. But on the whole, real positives are hard to find.
It was a better performance. I did not think Rice played well, he did ok first half but second half I thought he was poor. I also thought our front 3 were poor. Certainly not a 9 rating. Benrahma is much better as a 10 but like Fornals Moyes continues to play both out of position. A top manager picks a system to suit the players not puts players into a system that suits him. I thought Aguerd was outstanding followed by Coufal. Ogbonna do solid, great leader on the pitch and Emerson is improving.
I thought Aguerd and Rice were very good, classy. Emerson has definitely improved. But Kehrer looked dodgy as.