Creativity is definitely not the trait West Ham United’s 0-0 draw against Aston Villa will be remembered for.
It was defensive solidity that was the order of the day, as Hammers supporters claimed Lukasz Fabianski to be their Man of the Match, while plenty of Villa fans felt that Frederic Guilbert was theirs.
But West Ham’s official Twitter account still decided to pull up some statistics from Manuel Lanzini’s performance:
Statistics Villa…
– 90% pass completion
– 4 completed take-ons
– 100% effortOur ! pic.twitter.com/Yb3yoFjNMw
— West Ham United (@WestHam) September 18, 2019
This didn’t get the response that was probably intended, as Hammers fans showed their disappointment with his performance, saying he was ‘bang average’, while one fan claimed they ‘didn’t even notice he was on the pitch’.
The Argentinian did make 4 dribbles and 1 key pass during the game, though only 1 of his 2 shots were on target, as per WhoScored.
He has been a key creative influence for the Hammers this season though, having got an assist against Brighton & Hove Albion and won a penalty against Watford, averaging 3 key passes and 3.4 dribbles per game.
A selection of Twitter reaction to the performance, including posts from disappointed West Ham fans, can be seen below:
I don’t mean this as a dig against him but can you please tell him to shoot more? He gets into so many good positions to shoot and then just passes it sideways. Tell Anderson to shoot more as well please, they’ve both got the quality so it makes no sense to me
— James Gunn (@jamesgunn_) September 18, 2019
He was shocking against Villa lol
— Stephen George Lott (@stephenlott) September 18, 2019
0% end product
— Kevin Fay (@kevin_fay) September 18, 2019
Looool he was bang average
— Daniel Valentine (@_danvalentine) September 18, 2019
I doubt he did, because if he had of watched the game he’d of realised Lanzini spent most of the game covering noble who was running round like a headless chicken
— Jay (@corbettjaay) September 18, 2019
Didn’t even notice he was on the pitch
— Ryan. (@RyanOliver17) September 18, 2019
West Ham fans, what did you make of Lanzini’s performance? Join the discussion by commenting below…
