West Ham could not have started
their season in a better way as they stormed through to a 2-0 away victory against
a favoured Arsenal side in their opening fixture of the season. Goals from
Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate allowed the Hammers to leave the Emirates
with 3 points in their first Premier League game under new manager Slaven
Bilic. Summer signing Dimitri Payet impressed massively, providing the assist
for Kouyate’s opener and could surprise a few this season. Youngster Reece
Oxford performed awesomely, the 16-year-old protecting the Hammers defence
immensely well, completing the game with a 95% passing accuracy – the highest
of any player on the pitch. Bilic will be hoping the youngster continues to
play with such authority in their coming fixtures.
Leicester City came as the second
challenge of the season for West Ham. Each side came into the fixture on the
back of impressive victories in their opening games. The match at Upton Park
saw the teams go toe to toe in a thrilling encounter, West Ham falling short
with a 2-1 home loss. Dimitri Payet impressed once more, his goal giving the
Hammers hope in the second half, after going into the break 2-0 down. West Ham
were reduced to ten men late on, as goalkeeper Adrian saw red having gone up
for a corner in stoppage time. Having enjoyed 70% of the possession, the home
side will have been regretful of wasting their opportunities and not creating
more for their strike force to feed on.
West Ham will have been pleased
with their start to this campaign and have laid down strong foundations to
build upon for the rest of the season. Reece Oxford will have to take a lot of
responsibility in the midfield for the Hammers and it will be interesting to
see how he copes. Expect to see them consolidate on their performance last
season, a respectable 12th place.
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