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Manchester United have somehow managed to name only one player in the Premier League’s worst matchweek XI. They can thank West Ham for that.
This XI is based on the WhoScored rankings for the Premier League games played on 29 and 30 December.
Goalkeeper: Fraser Forster (Tottenham)
Hwang managed to set himself up from 6ft 7in for Hee-chan’s opening goal, then committed the cardinal sin of beating Jorgen Strand Larsson at his near post for an equaliser. He suffered an obvious injury in the first half as he plays for Spurs but that slow wave of the hand for Larsson’s goal looked especially good.
Right back: Axel Dassey (Chelsea)
This is why you’ve been relegated to conference league duty, guys. Dessie has started four Premier League games under Enzo Maresca and while none have been convincing by any means, this was by far the worst performance of the lot.
The Frenchman made a loose pass to Omri Hutchinson, offering barely any resistance. It was a disgraceful demonstration.
Read more: Chelsea duo fuming after Ipswich defeat as Enzo Marisca reacts to controversial penalty
Centre-back: Issa Diop (Fulham)
A solid enough display until it wasn’t quite right. Fulham were on course for another three points until Diop made a papa-boba for himself with an odd choice of pass that was even worse executed.
Centre-back: Max Kilman (West Ham)
It seems a little harsh to place too much blame on one player for another disastrous defensive team performance, especially since Kilman was reliable on the ball and even made a forward or two.
Perhaps the deflection on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s goal is given a bit more precedent here. In a list of West Ham’s worst players against Liverpool or the biggest problems in general, Kilman wouldn’t be the first to spring to mind.
Left back: Mark Cucorella (Chelsea)
The whole worthy European champions thing was starting to wear thin, so it’s been nice to see Cukorella come back from an unnecessary suspension to feature in back-to-back defeats.
In short, no shots, tackles or interceptions with a chance equals a back-and-forth performance from a player who is expected to do a lot.
Central Midfield: Abdoulaye Doukour (Everton)
Probably still shouldn’t start regularly in the Premier League until 2025 but Everton don’t really have much to choose from. The energy, aggression and technique of Nottingham Forest’s midfield exposed Ducourt’s worst traits and Morgan Gibbs-White ruthlessly punished his slow passing.
Central Midfield: Matisse Fernandes (Southampton)
Few of Southampton’s players need much protection and support, with the 20-year-old charged with providing creativity and defensive stability in just his second full season as a professional, and first in England.
Fernandes wasn’t too bad against Crystal Palace but it was his poor touch on the edge of Southampton’s area that led to Ibreci Eze’s straight away winner. A fifth yellow card of the season also brings a suspension.
Central Midfield: Edson Alvarez (West Ham)
One of Mo Salah’s many victims, Alvarez was actually decent on the ball but not part of the midfield screen for a well-exposed defence. It was the fourth time this season that the Mexican has either been taken off or brought on at half-time. Julen Lopetegui has a problem..
Attacking Midfield: Carlos Soler (West Ham)
oh man It wasn’t very good. Once again, West Ham’s shape and set-up was a bigger problem than any one player but Soler did essentially nothing to either stem the tide or change the momentum, and Liverpool’s third goal. I made a mistake.
It was a bit odd that a loanee did West Ham’s post-match interview after another beating but there you go.
Attacking Midfield: Jean Reckner Bellegarde (Wolves)
In fairness to Bellegarde, playing in the same position as Matthies Cunha and on the same team does not lend itself to favorable comparisons. But then neither was being a bit rubbish and the Frenchman was one of the few who didn’t pull his weight for Wolves.
Vitor Pereira took Bellegarde off at half-time, by which time he had already been sacked four times en route to scoring nothing.
Center Forward: Rasmus Hodglund (Manchester United)
Given a similar rating to Jarrod Bowen in West Ham’s surrender to Liverpool, Hojlund earned a starting spot due to playing the full game against Newcastle while the Hammers captain was substituted on the hour.
It was the same story for Højlund, who once again found himself without teammates inside the 20-yard circle to move around forward and serve at a premium. Fabian Schar handled it with ease and His manager had an old joke on him..
The best bit? He was probably not in Manchester United’s worst five individual performances against Newcastle. Ruben Amorim explains it..
More on Manchester United mess from F365
👉 ‘Shocked’ Neville slams four ‘poor’ Man Utd stars as Red Devils go ‘back’ under Amorim
👉 Carragher slams Amorim as Man Utd trio ‘can’t run’ One star was described as ‘terrifying’ and ‘terrifying’
👉 Manchester United’s Mays left Ashworth ‘laughing his head off’ at home ahead of Southgate’s appointment
