Everton: Alex Iwobi was shocking against West Ham | OneFootball

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Football FanCast

·18 October 2021

Everton: Alex Iwobi was shocking against West Ham

Article image:Everton: Alex Iwobi was shocking against West Ham

Everton suffered their first home defeat of the season after Angelo Ogbonna’s headed effort proved enough to seal all three points for West Ham United at Goodison Park over the weekend.

It was a tough afternoon for the hosts, who were missing several key players through injury once again, and Rafa Benitez’s charges only managed two shots on target all afternoon.


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The Hammers dominated the first half but couldn’t find a way through an organised defence and called Jordan Pickford into action just once.

Things improved for Everton after the break, although it remained a game of few chances, and Ogbonna rose highest to meet a Jarrod Bowen corner in the 74th minute, heading home the ball to secure a hard-fought victory.

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However, things could have been very different for the Toffees. After missing the Manchester United game through injury, Alex Iwobi returned to the starting lineup and had a game to forget.

Following good work from Demarai Gray down the left-wing, the Nigeria international missed a glorious opportunity when he failed to make any contact with the ball from just six yards out.

Then, in the second half, Iwobi’s spin and strike was blocked, condemning the Blues to just a second league loss of the campaign.

The 25-year-old’s underwhelming display saw him awarded a match rating of just 6 out of 10, by far the lowest total awarded to anyone on the pitch, as per SofaScore.

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Article image:Everton: Alex Iwobi was shocking against West Ham

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And when taking a closer look at his underlying numbers, it’s easy to understand why. Iwobi had just 29 touches during his time on the pitch, 14 fewer than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, highlighting his inability to influence proceedings.

He also failed to win any of his three duels, couldn’t pick out a teammate with either of his attempted crosses and had a passing accuracy of 71%. What made things worse was a tally of 0 dribbles or key passes.

It was a hugely disappointing showing from Iwobi as he let Benitez down against West Ham, and the Spanish tactician will be hoping the winger puts in a better performance against Watford next time out.

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