West Ham player ratings vs Leicester City
Wilfried Ndidi’s 89th-minute deflected goal neutralised Fabian Balbuena’s first ever goal in the Premier League as both West Ham and Leicester City shared a point apiece at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester City started the game on a good note in the opening ten minutes as James Maddison’s movement in the final third asked all sorts of questions of the Hammers’ backline. However, it was Balbuena who opened the scoring in the first half before Mark Noble was sent off for a rather cynical challenge on Wilfried Ndidi.
Leicester tried to capitalise on the numerical advantage and pressed for an equaliser but the Foxes had to wait till the 90th minute to find the back of the net.
Manuel Pellegrini has every reason to be pleased with his team’s efforts given that they picked up a valuable point away from home after back-to-back losses against Brighton and Spurs.
West Ham player ratings
1. Lukasz Fabianski (8/10)
Another good day at the office for the veteran Polish shot-stopper. Made a number of good saves to deny Vardy and Iborra; unlucky not to keep a clean sheet as he was beaten by Ndidi’s deflected shot from range.
2. Pablo Zabaleta (6/10)
He put in the hard yards down the right and tried to keep things tight but seemed to be bamboozled by Ben Chilwell’s guile and sharpness.
3. Fabian Balbuena (8/10)
A solid day at the heart of the defense for the Paraguayan. Won a lot of headers and made some crucial challenges to keep the opposition at bay; scored the opener with a header from the rebound after his own shot came back off the post.
4. Issa Diop (7/10)
The Senegalese international stood strong and put in a solid shift at the back with Balbuena; sat back deep in the dying stages and made some crunching challenges.
5. Artur Masuaku (6.5/10)
Had a better day at the back and contributed to the attacking play at times; not very comfortable in possession and seemed to be hurried by the attackers occasionally.
6. Declan Rice (7.5/10)
Another impressive outing for the young Irishman. Pressed higher up the pitch to make some important challenges and looked very tidy with his passing; played as a part of the back four in the dying stages of the game.
7. Felipe Anderson (6/10)
Provided a good delivery from the free-kick to set up the goal and tracked back to help the defenders; not much impact on the game.
8. Mark Noble (4/10)
He was playing well until that red card incident where he lunged recklessly into Ndidi. West Ham will have a tough time filling the void in the midfield for the next three games.
9. Grady Diangana (6/10)
A good outing for the youngster in the absence of Yarmolenko. He looked good on the ball and showed some sumptuous touches down the flanks; gave the ball away cheaply at times.
10. Robert Snodgrass (6.5/10)
Contributed to the link-up play in the midfield and helped the defenders to cut out the attacks; got into promising positions but couldn’t make use of the openings.
11. Javier Hernandez (6/10)
Not a particularly productive outing for the Mexican. Showed some elegant touches and sharp turns but lacked the supply from the midfield.
Substitutes
Angelo Ogbonna (N/A)
Could have won it for his team in injury time but blasted his shot wide from close range.
Read More:- West Ham must revive interest in this 24-year-old midfield powerhouse to replace Mark Noble
Michail Antonio (6/10)
Used his pace and strength to put the defenders under pressure and almost created a goal out of nothing in injury time.
Aaron Creswell (N/A)
Not much time to make an impact.
