Faced with the absence of suspended Winston Reid, West Ham United defied expectation to produce one of their most impressive defensive displays this campaign at Manchester United on Sunday.
A back three that included Angelo Ogbonna, Cheikhou Kouyate and James Collins were a constant frustration for Manchester United’s star-studded forwards as the visitors extended their unbeaten league run over the Red Devils to four games.
Ogbonna’s two blocks, including one goal-saving effort to deny Zlatan Ibrahimovic from 10 yards made him second only to Pedro Obiang when it came to getting in the way of the home sides efforts on goal.
The Italian’s ability to read the game was further exemplified as he topped the West Ham charts when it came to key interceptions (three), with only Manchester United’s Paul Pogba making more in the 90 minutes.
Ogbonna’s eight clearances were equalled by Cheikhou Kouyate and bettered only by James Collins as The Hammers’ back-three made 25 out of their side’s 36 clearances to keep Manchester United at bay.
For the opposition, Pogba made four blocks: three more than any of his teammates (six with one each). The Frenchman again led the way in interceptions (four) with Ander Herrera second on three and Lingard, Mata and Rojo sharing two each.
Whilst he offered little in terms of shots or attacking headers for The Hammers, Ogbonna’s defensive responsibilities were carried out with consummate professionalism as he, Kouyate, Collins and Randolph ensured West Ham left Old Trafford with a valuable point.
The change to three at the back has seen a marked improvement in West Ham United’s defensive statistics with the side leaking more than one goal on just two occasions since the formation was adopted at the beginning of October.
Central to the successful change have been the performances of Ogbonna, whose overall defensive display again yesterday meant he too might have been deserving of man of the match, something which eventually went to Darren Randolph.
West Ham United’s overall performances have shown improvement week-on-week recently and the displays of the defensive unit as a whole are an encouraging sign that the Hammers can soon begin to put together a consistent set of positive results.
Analyse the game for yourself with in-depth stats on our Match Centre here.