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West Ham weathered a storm and ended up with great effort in a goalless draw with Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was forced to manage the game remotely from home after a family member tested positive for coronavirus, but his team was on top for most of the game, though not. they were able to forge a clear opportunity.
The hosts appeared to have broken the stalemate six minutes after Che Adams cut the ball off Danny Ings, who danced through two defenders and coldly edged Lukasz Fabianski, but Adams was offside in preparation and the VAR wrote it down.
Despite Southampton’s dominance, the Hammers conjured some of the clearest opportunities. Ryan Fredericks couldn’t hit clean yards from goal, while Tomas Soucek couldn’t bury an open goal opportunity either.
The best chance of the game fell to West Ham substitute Said Benrahma after Southampton made a mistake clearing Jarrod Bowen’s cut ball in the box, but Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy put his body on the ball. line and secured the point.
A game with few occasions but with rejected opportunities
David Moyes made five changes to his West Ham starting eleven after a disappointing performance in a 2-2 draw against Brighton, with Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini gaining starting places after coming off the bench to good effect two days ago.
But early signs suggested the Hammers were ready for another below par performance when Southampton came off the blocks and imposed dominance, with Ings shooting home a first game only to be ruled out by the VAR when Adams was called offside. In the preparation. .
Minutes later, Adams was on the other end of an opportunity after effective exchanges between Kyle Walker-Peters and Theo Walcott down the right channel, but his effort lagged behind and he appeared to have been thrown offside again.
Despite Southampton’s dominance, the Hammers conjured some of the clearest opportunities. Yarmolenko looped a cross to Pablo Fornals, who drove it deeper into the six-yard box, but Fredericks couldn’t connect cleanly.
James Ward-Prowse shoots a kick over the bar from his favorite territory
Fornals then provided another opportunity moments later, playing a one-two with Aaron Cresswell and his cross landed at Lanzini’s feet after James Ward-Prowse fluffed his lines, but the Argentine threw his chance above the bar.
In the second half, Yarmolenko crept into the box, looking to pull the trigger repeatedly with his favorite left foot, but Oriol Romeu timed a perfect interception to avoid the shot.
Aside from Ings’s disallowed goal, Southampton’s only real chances came from a distance, with Ward-Prowse shooting from a free kick in his favorite territory and Walcott teasing Fabianski with a long-range attempt.
Said Benrahma misses a late chance to win the game
But the game was destined to end scoreless when substitute Benrahma couldn’t get past McCarthy with the best chance of the game.
However, Moyes will be happy with his team’s late rally and the return of Michail Antonio brings further positives for the club, having been deployed from the bench in the 77th minute after recovering from a hamstring injury. hamstring.
Man of the Match – Kyle Walker-Peters
The game failed to produce a clear standout player with so many rejected opportunities, but Walker-Peters provided the most consistent threat and helped fuel the Saints’ superior dominance for long stretches of the game, frequently pairing with Walcott.
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- Southampton have played straight goalless draws in the Premier League for the first time since October 2018 with Mark Hughes.
- Southampton striker Danny Ings had neither a shot nor a touch in West Ham’s box in this match; This was the 54th time he completed 90 minutes in a Premier League game in his career, but the first of those 54 in which he missed a shot or touch in the opponent’s area.
- Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse made his 73rd consecutive Premier League appearance, the longest career of any outfield player in the competition.
- At 30 years and 237 days, Craig Dawson was the oldest English outfield player to make his Premier League debut for West Ham since Roger Johnson in January 2014 (30 and 258d).
Whats Next?
Monday, January 4 7:00 pm
Start 8:00 pm
Southampton can now finish the year and rest before hosting champion Liverpool at St Mary’s on January 4. live on Sky Sports Premier Leaguewhile West Ham is set to play again on New Years Day when they face Everton at Goodison Park.
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