West Ham United took on Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City took the lead early on against West Ham – one that was thoroughly undeserved.
Erling Haaland then made it 2-0 a few minutes before half-time, and the match was then pretty much done and dusted.
The game ended 4-1 to the home side in the end, and it was far too easy for them on the whole.
The Hammers actually looked decent at times, but we lacked any kind of cutting edge inside the final third.
Julen Lopetegui is a man under real pressure right now, and before the game, it was claimed that a heavy loss to Manchester City could see him sacked.
It was also suggested that Lopetegui could lose his job if his side put in poor performances against Man City and Aston Villa.
Now all that remains to be seen is whether or not the board will act.
It’s clear to see that we are going nowhere fast under Lopetegui, and one West Ham player’s statistics during our clash with Man City proved to me that the Spaniard doesn’t actually have a clue what he’s doing.
Tomas Soucek’s shocking stats vs Manchester City
West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek has actually been very good for us this season in all fairness to him.
The Czech Republic midfielder always gives 100 per cent and he never shirks responsibility, either on the pitch or when asked challenging questions by the media.
However, it must be said, he’s just not a very aesthetically pleasing footballer to watch, due to his cumbersome nature when in possession.
Don’t get me wrong, he has scored some really important goals for us this season, and he usually scores at vital times in games when we’re either trailing or drawing.
However, we all know that football is about much more than that.
During 90 minute games, Soucek’s overall performances have been underwhelming to say the least.
His playing style is not conducive to what Lopetegui wants to do at West Ham.
And one of his statistics during our clash with Man City on Saturday really should raise some eyebrows around the fanbase.
Tomas Soucek stats for West Ham vs Manchester City
The 29-year-old captained the Hammers for our clash with Man City on Saturday.
However, he really struggled at the Etihad.
And one single Soucek statistic in particular really caught my eye.
The former Slavia Prague man 29 attempted passes against Man City and completed, wait for it…just 51.7% of those passes (Who Scored).
The fact that he made so few passes for a central midfielder says a lot about his ability on the ball as it is.
I really don’t think there is another central midfielder in the Premier League who is so poor with the ball at his feet.
Tomas Soucek’s passing is truly horrendous, and that ineptitude was on full display during West Ham’s clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
He has to work on the way that he receives the ball on the half turn. Every single time he does, he turns into trouble rather than away from it, and that subsequently makes him rush his passes.
If Lopetegui really wants to implement a possession-based system, he cannot afford to keep playing Soucek in the middle of the park, it really is as simple as that.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
