West Ham showed that their defence could be gritty and resolute in the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa on Monday night. The Hammers went down to 10 men in the second half when Arthur Masuaku was sent off but the defence held out for a point.
This was partly down to some Lukasz Fabianski brilliance and it was partly down to some toothless attacking from Villa. But take nothing away from Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna, who performed well on Monday night.
Diop and Ogbonna now appear to be the first-choice centre-backs at West Ham. Diop has been a mainstay since Manuel Pellegrini came to West Ham and he showed why last night. Here, Hammers News does some statistical analysis on his performance (stats sourced via WhoScored).
Issa Diop: Performance in numbers
Diop’s excellent performance at the back helped to keep Aston Villa at bay and he kept Wesley Moraes quiet. Wesley, a summer target for the Irons (as per The Chronicle), was given a Premier League lesson by Diop.
The Frenchman won two aerial duels while Wesley failed to win one and he took more touches than the Brazilian player he was marking (37 to 33). Wesley could not get a foothold in the game and failed to trouble the West Ham defence.
Diop’s defensive contributions were impressive. He made four clearances, two interceptions and two tackles. One of his two tackles was particularly impressive as he stood his ground and stopped Anwar El Ghazi going through on goal.
The 22-year-old is growing into his role as a ball-playing defender, too. With 23 completed passes at a rate of 87 per cent, he did his job well on Monday. He can go from strength to strength in West Ham’s defence this season.
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