Nottingham Forest 1-0 West Ham
West Ham began the game in an unfamiliar 3-4-3 formation with Lucas Paqueta deployed on the right side of a three-pronged attack.
The Hammers enjoyed a fair share of early possession, but it was Forest who created the first attempts on goal. It seemed that West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui had set the team up in a far more pragmatic way.
After 16 minutes, an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross led to a corner, but as has been the case all season, West Ham wasted the set piece. Moments later, Morgan Gibbs-White was brought down by Guido Rodriguez on the edge of the 18-yard box. The Argentinian received a yellow card, and although Forest wasted the resulting free kick, it could easily have been worse.
Both full-backs pushed forward on several occasions but struggled to deliver effective final balls, resulting in the Hammers failing to register a shot.
The pressure eventually told when Mavropanos was beaten, and Chris Wood managed to score, leaving Todibo, Alvarez, and Kilman all looking puzzled as to who allowed the Kiwi a free header from close range.
West Ham tried to get back into the game, but the passing was as poor as I’ve seen from a Hammers team in some time. The midfield and attack lacked the athleticism to compete with the opposition, and the Irons’ front three were all deployed in positions that didn’t suit them.
West Ham lost all discipline
Late in half, Paqueta had a shot cleared off the line by Chris Wood following a good knock down header from Max Kilman. Unfortunately there was still enough time for Edson Alvarez to hack down Elanga and get his second yellow card in the game but in truth, Rodrigues, Summerville and Alvarez all lost their heads at one time or another as the team completely lost discipline.
With one half still to play, Lopetegui will have much to address with a rudderless team growing increasingly frustrated in a formation that seemed to benefit only Nottingham Forest.
