West Ham 3-1 Leeds: Player ratings as timid Whites slip towards relegation
FROM LONDON STADIUM - West Ham fought back from a goal behind to beat Leeds 3-1 on Sunday afternoon, pushing Sam Allardyce's side closer to the drop.
The Hammers looked to have a bit of a European hangover as they fell behind to Rodrigo's thumping volley but hit back in style to climb above Bournemouth into 14th in the Premier League table.
Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Manuel Lanzini were on the scoresheet for West Ham, who could also play a part in Leicester's Premier League fate on the final day of the season – they travel to King Power Stadium to face a Foxes side who may need all three points to stay up.
West Ham made six changes from the side who won in Alkmaar on Thursday night - match winner Pablo Fornals among those handed a start - while Sam Allardyce replaced the suspended Junior Firpo with Pascal Struijk in addition to recalling Adam Forshaw for Sam Greenwood.
And it was Allardyce's side who came out of the blocks quicker. Patrick Bamford got in behind Kurt Zouma twice in the opening five minutes before Jack Harrison drew the first save of the game from Lukasz Fabianski.
Leeds' pressure would soon result in the opening goal of the game as a sluggish West Ham fell asleep from a throw-in. Weston McKennie's long hurl into the box was volleyed into the top corner by unmarked Rodrigo as the home defenders just stood and watched.
It was the Spaniard's 12th Premier League goal of the season for Leeds, but the momentum of the game soon swung back in the favour of West Ham as they awoke from their slumber. Rice had already had a sighter at Joel Robles' goal from 25 yards out but his equalising goal just after the half-hour came from a terrific passage of play involving Bowen and Fornals.
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They linked up neatly outside the penalty area - the latter dinking an impudent ball over a static Leeds defence - and Bowen's lofted ball across the six-yard box was turned home by an onrushing Rice at the back post.
Emerson and Lucas Paqueta had further efforts before the break while Harrison really should have done better for Leeds after Rodrigo seized upon a rare Kurt Zouma mistake.
Paqueta started the second half with a couple of sumptuous roulette turns - further evidence of his growing impact - as West Ham began to take complete control. Leeds, meanwhile, offered very little in the final third and looked bereft of ideas despite Allardyce making a number of substitutions.
West Ham eventually hit the front through Bowen as he prodded Ings' through pass beyond Robles and there was time for Manuel Lanzini to add a third from close range after fine footwork from Paqueta.
Leeds host Tottenham on the final day of the season needing to win at Elland Road whereas West Ham can keep one eye firmly on their upcoming Europa Conference League final clash with Fiorentina.
West Ham player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Lukasz Fabianski - 6/10 - Had little to do in terms of shot-stopping but dealt with crosses well.
RB: Vladimir Coufal - 7/10 - Full of energy as always down the right flank. Wouldn't have known Gnonto had come on so can take great credit for that.
CB: Kurt Zouma 6/10 - Looked a little troubled in his movement, which isn't anything new, and was almost punished by Rodrigo after an ill-advised dwell on the ball. Replaced by Kehrer at the break.
CB: Angelo Ogbonna - 6/10 - Didn't attack the throw led to Rodrigo's goal with enough gusto. Cleared everything that came his way but a bit lacking in the pace department.
LB: Emerson - 6/10 - Rarely troubled from a defensive standpoint as Leeds failed to put the pressure on.
DM: Declan Rice - 8/10 - Not a bad way to sign off if this turns out to be Rice's last home game in a West Ham shirt. Intelligent run to the back post earned the equaliser minutes before a ridiculous roulette to spin away from Gnonto.
CM: Tomas Soucek - 7/10 - Misplacing simple passes is something that continues to dog the Czech's game but his ability in the air can't be understated.
CM: Lucas Paqueta - 9/10 - One successful roulette is exciting enough but two in the space of five seconds? Very, very naughty. Bossed the midfield battle for West Ham and set up Lanzini's third with more great feet.
RW: Jarrod Bowen - 8/10 - Looked to stretch the game whenever he could after a slow start. Took his goal superbly on the angle.
CF: Danny Ings - 7/10 - Always a willing runner for West Ham in a system that doesn't play to his strengths. Cute reverse pass perfectly weighted for Bowen's goal.
LW: Pablo Fornals - 7/10 - Decision making occasionally falls short of the mark but not here. Got into some good areas and provided plenty of energy.
Substitutes
SUB: Thilo Kehrer (46' for Zouma) - 6/10 - Not overly troubled by Leeds as they struggled to make an impact in the second half.
SUB: Manuel Lanzini (84' for Bowen) - 7/10 - May well have been signing off here, nice way to finish with a late goal.
SUB: Ben Johnson (90'+4) - N/A
SUB: Divin Mubama (90'+4) - N/A
Subs not used: Areola (GK), Cresswell, Benrahma, Cornet, Antonio
Manager
David Moyes - 8/10 - Rotated the players he needed to from midweek and they didn't let him down. Style of play was good to watch, too.
Leeds player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Joel Robles - 6/10 - 25 minutes of having nothing to do soon dissipated as West Ham turned the game's momentum.
RB: Luke Ayling (c) - 5/10 - Offered an attacking outlet for Leeds, particularly in the first 20 minutes, and made a couple of decent blocks. That said, far too open as defensive structure fell apart.
CB: Rasmus Kristensen - 4/10 - Has been shunted into a role that isn't natural and that showed with some of his positioning.
CB: Max Wober - 4/10 - Gave the ball back to West Ham cheaply on far too many occasions. Struggled with the fluid movement of Bowen and Ings.
LB: Pascal Struijk - 5/10 - Drafted in to replace the suspended Junior Firpo but didn't have a lot of joy against a red-hot Bowen.
DM: Robin Koch - 4/10 - Overrun and outclassed at times by Paqueta. Went missing when Leeds needed him to help get a grip on proceedings.
DM: Adam Forshaw - 5/10 - Sprayed a couple of nice diagonals to Ayling in the first half but found the Rice and Paqueta combination tough going.
CM: Weston McKennie - 5/10 - Got plenty of distance on the throw to hand Leeds a deserved lead but, as so often this season, faded when the going got tough.
RM: Rodrigo - 6/10 - Tremendous technique to thunder his volley under Fabianski's crossbar. Switched to leading the line and made a few clever runs.
LM: Jack Harrison - 4/10 - Wasted a great opportunity just before the half-time interval. Switched to the right flank after Bamford's injury but wasn't really involved.
CF: Patrick Bamford - 6/10 - Caused problems early on by running in behind but saw his afternoon curtailed by injury, again.
Substitutes
SUB: Wilfried Gnonto (33' for Bamford) - 4/10 - No impact at all from the Italian.
SUB: Crysencio Summerville (62' for Harrison) - 4/10 - One particularly comical passage of play involving Ayling summed up his contribution.
SUB: Brenden Aaronson (62' for Forshaw) - 4/10 - Nowhere near enough quality.
SUB: Sam Greenwood (84' for Struijk) - N/A
SUB: Marc Roca (84' for McKennie) - N/A
Subs not used: Meslier (GK), Cooper, Chilokoa-Mullen, Rutter
Manager
Sam Allardyce - 5/10 - Got a tune out of Leeds early on but they relapsed into old ways pretty quickly. Substitutes let him down by barely getting involved.