Two sides with very different aspirations met at the London Stadium on Saturday, with Wolves chasing European football and West Ham hoping to avoid a relegation battle. With Watford and Brighton picking up points, a win for West Ham seemed crucial. However, it was not to be. Wolves dominated the game, walking away 2-0 winners to move them up to 6th and leaving West Ham only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
BEST PLAYER - ADAMA TRAORÉ
Despite holding the majority of possession, Wolves were struggling to make the breakthrough. That was, of course, until Adama Traoré came on. The powerful Spainard has completed 144 dribbles this season (5.1 per game), considerably more than any other player and this trend continued as Traoré completed 4 dribbles despite only playing 26 minutes. He had the quality to match too, providing a key pass to Jiménez who headed home. With interest from many top clubs, Wolves may struggle to keep hold of him.
WORST PLAYER - PABLO FORNALS
Unfortunately for West Ham, Pablo Fornals was the worst player on the pitch. Fornals was surprisingly wasteful with the ball, failing to complete any dribbles or either of his two attempted long balls during his 80 minutes on the pitch. His woes continued in the final third. Not only did he fail to complete any key passes, he took two shots (the most of any West Ham player), including the second best chance of the game (rated at .29 xG), and failed to hit the target with either. West Ham are definitely in trouble if their creative players continue to put in these performances.
UNDERRATED PLAYER - WILLY BOLY
The importance of Willy Boly to Wolves could not be clearer. In the 15 games he missed through injury this season, Wolves only kept 1 clean sheet. However, since his return, they have now kept 5 in 6 games. A dive into the stats clearly shows why he is so influential. The French centre back intercepted the ball more than any other player (3), made 2 tackles and cleared the ball 5 times, evidencing his impressive ability to read the game and disrupt the opposition’s attacks. If he can stay fit, more clean sheets should follow.
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