It was a sign of his understated importance to West Ham that Aaron Cresswell, along with Declan Rice, was substituted first against Genk on Thursday night once David Moyes‘ side had built an unassailable 3-0 lead at the London Stadium.
Moyes has constructed a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, but within that cohesive structure are a few players who gain more recognition than most. Michail Antonio and Said Benrahma have received plaudits for their devastating double act in attack and Declan Rice is rapidly enhancing his claim to be the best and most influential player outside of the so-called “Big Six”.
Cresswell, by contrast, generally flies under the radar but, as he highlighted in midweek, he is integral to his team’s attack. The 31-year-old ostensibly played as a left back in Moyes’ 4-2-3-1 system, but with natural No 10 Nikola Vlasic vacating his position on the wing in search of pockets of space infield, Cresswell was effectively playing as an out-and-out winger.
West Ham frequently dissected Genk’s defence down the flanks from open play, with Cresswell almost picking out Bowen with a low ball that flashed across the six-yard-box towards the end of first half and Ben Johnson doing likewise on the opposite side. But it was Cresswell’s set-piece prowess that eventually forced a breakthrough against the Belgian side and consolidated the lead shortly after.
Most chances created from set-pieces since the start of 2020-21:
- Pascal Gross (Brighton) – 52
- Luke Shaw (Man Utd) – 48
- Mason Mount (Chelsea) – 47
- Aaron Cresswell (West Ham) – 46
- James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) – 46
- Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) – 44
Set-piece assists since the start of 2020-21:
- James Ward-Prowse (Southampton) – 7
- Aaron Cresswell (West Ham) – 6
- Mason Mount (Chelsea) – 5
- Pascal Gross (Brighton) – 4
- Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) – 4
*Stats via FBREF
He provided an assist apiece for West Ham’s stand-in centre backs, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop, from two devilish deliveries that swung away from, rather than in towards, Maarten Vandevoort’s goal. Dawson was the beneficiary of the first from a corner with virtually the last touch of the first half, before Diop doubled the lead 12 minutes after the restart, this time from a free-kick.
Moyes admitted afterwards, that West Ham, regarded by some bookies as the new favourites to win the Europa League, can maximise opposition teams’ vulnerability from such situations. “The Premier League has got a lot of strong defences, and attackers who can defend set-pieces,” he said. “It may be more effective in European football.”
The manner with which West Ham tormented their visitors from corners and free-kicks suggests that Moyes has a point, but while goals by that method have been harder to come by in the Premier League this season, the Hammers still pose a bigger threat than most from dead balls. Regular starters Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, Tomas Soucek and Antonio all pose a significant threat in the air.
And in Creswell, they have one of the division’s most accomplished suppliers of set-pieces. Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Cresswell has created 46 chances from corners, free-kicks or throw-ins, a total that is bettered by just three players. Furthermore, renowned set-piece specialist James Ward-Prowse is the only player to have provided more assists than him over that same period, with seven to six.
Proof of West Ham’s work on the training ground in this regard is shown by Bowen featuring in joint-fourth position for set-piece assists, the most recent of which was for Ogbonna in last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. They also scored more goals from set-pieces (16) than any other side during the 2020-21 season. Moyes’ first-team coaches, the highly-regarded Paul Nevin, who in August was appointed to Gareth Southgate’s backroom staff, and ex-captain Kevin Nolan, a master at scoring from such pre-rehearsed moves during his playing days, have been key to West Ham’s success in that area.
“Up until Everton, I’m not sure we had scored this season from a set-piece, so it is not as if we have been doing it every game,” Moyes said on Thursday. “But thankfully we got the winning goal at Everton and tonight as well.”
Having rediscovered their golden touch in that regard, West Ham will be confident of causing Tottenham‘s shaky defence problems with crosses into the box, as they did famously in overturning a 3-0 deficit to draw 3-3 against them last season. It was from a Cresswell free-kick that Fabian Balbuena scored the first goal to set the revival in motion, while the equaliser, lashed into the top corner in memorable fashion by Manuel Lanzini, came after Spurs had failed to effectively clear another pinpoint delivery from the left boot of Cresswell.
Spurs almost invited Newcastle to stage a similarly unlikely comeback in their most recent league game last Sunday when Eric Dier bundled into his own net from a Jacob Murphy free-kick, but this time managed to hold out and secure a 3-2 victory. Cristian Romero is a dominant presence and Harry Kane a more useful defender than given credit for, but man-for-man Spurs lack the aerial dominance of this weekend’s opponents.
And with Cresswell in such inspired form, it could be an area that West Ham can exploit against their rivals on Sunday.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3E34JZ2
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