Match Coverage

‘Unacceptable’ – Owen Hargreaves savages West Ham United star El Hadji Malick Diouf after what he saw him do

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Owen Hargreaves is far from pleased with West Ham defender El Hadji Malick Diouf after he saw footage of him in action.

The former Bayern Munich midfielder was on punditry ahead of West Ham’s game against Manchester United on Thursday.

Hargreaves was assessing the Hammers’ defence all season and picked out moments where their defenders made errors that put their side in grave danger.

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Hargreaves highlights Diouf’s mistake in West Ham United vs Liverpool

West Ham lost 2-0 to Liverpool over the weekend and while Diouf was not among their worst players, he did make a few mistakes in the game.

The most notable one was where he had ample time to clear the ball, but completely misjudged the flight of the ball.

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West Ham United's El Hadji Malick Diouf during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Aston Villa at London Stadium on December 14, 2025 in London, England.

He missed the ball while trying to kick it and that saw Liverpool clean through on goal.

Alexander Isak, who’s not in the best of form, failed to make the most of it, but the Senegal international handed the Reds a big goal-scoring opportunity.

Speaking on Premier League Productions’ pre-match show, Hargreaves said: “That’s unacceptable. You’re playing against a top team like Liverpool. He cannot be doing that.”

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Jamie Carragher has raved about Diouf

While Diouf may have had one moment to forget against Liverpool, he has generally been a solid option at left-back.

It does not look like this is his first season at West Ham or in the Premier League, as he’s hit the ground running and become among the first names on the team sheet.

The Hammers’ recruitment in recent years has been underwhelming, and only a few fans would not be pleased with the signing of the 20-year-old.

After the game against Everton, Carragher was in the Sky Sports studio, and he waxed lyrical over a number of West Ham players, including Diouf.

He said: “Summerville, really energetic, caused problems. Diouf from left-back was absolutely fantastic, for the equalising goal as well. The problems he caused [Jake] O’Brien and [James] Tarkowski down that side…”

The London Stadium faithful will be hoping that he continues to put in more solid performances and keeps growing from strength to strength at the club.