As impressive as Jean-Clair Todibo was when partnering Axel Disasi during West Ham United’s 1-0 win at Fulham, Brentford in the FA Cup fifth round was very much a game for Konstantinos Mavropanos.
And what a game the Greek giant had.
Mavropanos scored the winning penalty as West Ham United set up a quarter-final meeting with Leeds. Just 90 minutes away from Wembley now.
What would you sacrifice for FA Cup GLORY?
Surely not your Premier League status…
And while Jean-Clair Todibo was among those not even part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad – given the night off alongside El Hadji Malick Diouf and Mads Hermansen – that Axel Disasi, Konstantinos Mavropanos partnership proved to be the ideal centre-half pairing to go up against Keith Andrews’ imposing Bees outfit.
Konstantinos Mavropanos justifies Nuno call in West Ham United’s FA Cup win
Disasi made the most clearnaces of any West Ham player with eleven. Mavropanos, though, was only one behind on ten.
Together along with Tomas Soucek – who won the most aerial duels on the night [seven] – Nuno protected the recalled Alphonse Areola with the three most physical, aerially dominant players in his squad.
“[Brentford] have played this style for a long time, so we knew what to expect,” said Soucek, whose Hammers teammates were bombarded by constant Brentford set-pieces during October’s 2-0 home defeat.
“It is very difficult to defend against them. They show that in the Premier League, they are a really good team.
“And I have to say well done to [Mavropanos and Disasi], all of the lads. Everyone did great work. It was a really tough game. To play 120 minutes made it even tougher.”
Max Kilman might have started as part of a much-changed side. Ditto Freddie Potts, or the aforementioned Todibo. On reflection, how Mavropanos, Disasi and Soucek dealt with Brentford’s long throws and their tendency to pack the penalty area for every single set-piece is testament to Nuno’s team selection.
DISCUSS: How much would you pay for Axel Disasi? 💷
Disasi has THREE years left on his Chelsea contract…
Mavropanos is far better in the air than Jean-Clair Todibo
Nuno appeared set up his side to combat Brentford’s physical power and set-piece threat.
With the exception of their first-half equaliser, turned home by Igor Thiago after Michael Kayode surprised the Hammers’ backline with a short throw-in, Nuno got the results he was looking for.
Mavropanos and Todibo are two very different centre-halves, built for very different occasions.
Todibo excels when covering the ground, breaking lines with his intelligent use of the ball, and intercepting passes threated in behind. Mavropanos, in contrast, is a throwback, backs-against-the-wall demon. Think a Greek Harry Maguire.
Play deep, as not to expose his athletic limitations, ask him to clear everything that comes across his path, and you’ve got a central defender perfectly suited for occasions – and opposition – such as Brentford in the FA Cup fifth round.
Per Data MB, Mavropanos ranks in the 78th percentile of Premier League centre-halves when it comes to winning aerial duels. Todibo sits in the lowly ninth percentile.
So when West Ham face Leeds with a trip to Wembley up for grabs – a Leeds side who tend to play long into Dominic Calvert-Lewin these days – expect Mavropanos and Disasi to again be among the first names on Nuno’s team sheet.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
