West Ham's awful form continued as they were convincingly beaten away at Turf Moor 3-0 by an impressive Burnley side.
Ashley Barnes controversially opened the scoring after just 11 minutes for Burnley after a corner was given, even though it seemed like Barnes hit the ball out of play. Nonetheless, James Tarkowski's cushioned header fell perfectly for Barnes, who fired home first time from eight yards out.
West Ham looked devoid of any sort of creativity and Burnley thought they'd doubled their lead when Chris Wood powered a header past Roberto from a fantastic Dwight McNeil cross. However, VAR - ever the villain - disallowed it (correctly) as Wood was in an offside position.
Burnley eventually get their second when McNeil set up Wood again, the New Zealander capitalising on a woeful touch from Fabian Balbuena following a poor throw out from Roberto.
West Ham had their first shot on target after 48 minutes - yes, they didn't manage one in the first half. But things got worse. Roberto, giving the performance of a bad goalkeeper, flapped at an Ashley Westwood cross and punched the ball into his own net, making the score 3-0.
It was an awful performance from West Ham, but nothing should be taken away from Burnley, who were very impressive. They deserved the 3-0 win as they played the Hammers off the park for most of the game and go into the international break with a much needed three points.
BURNLEY
Key Talking Point
Burnley had lost their last three in a row before hosting the Hammers, but they managed to put that poor form behind them in style.
They dictated the game and never really looked threatened in the first half by West Ham. Their front two - who have both recently signed long term contracts - got their rewards for their hard work up top.
Burnley's top two are a real handful for any defence and West Ham simply couldn't cope with them. Couple this with the wing-play of Dwight McNeil and it was a fantastic attacking performance at Turf Moor.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Pope (6); Bardsley (6), Tarkowski (8), Mee (7), Taylor (7); Hendrick (7), Cork (6), Westwood (7), McNeil (9*); Wood (8), Barnes (8).
Substitutes: Rodriguez (N/A), Brady (N/A).
STAR PLAYER - What a player Dwight McNeil is developing into. He ran Ryan Fredericks absolutely ragged all day and provided a great cross for the Wood goal. It was also his corner that resulted in the opener for Burnley.
His wand of a left foot is an absolute asset to this Burnley side and currently he is pushing for a call up to the England squad. Gareth Southgate should be watching.
An honourable mention must go to the front two, who scored deserved goals and were a menace for West Ham's shoddy defence all afternoon.
What a cross.
— MR MEE (@Mee_25) 9 November 2019
Take a bow dwight McNeil. #BurnleyFC
That left foot of Dwight McNeil
— Tom Reynolds (@ReynoldsTommm) 9 November 2019
Dwight McNeil is seriously underrated. One of the best young young players in the league, deserves to be in the first team England set up. pic.twitter.com/6oAp3hTFPd
— evan 》 (@afcevan) 9 November 2019
WEST HAM
Key Talking Point
West Ham came into this game looking for an upturn in fortunes after failing to win any of their last five. But things got so much worse for the Hammers - and a lot of the blame should be placed on their woeful goalkeeper and defence.
Manuel Pellegrini has a serious problem with West Ham's back five, which hasn't kept a clean sheet in their last six Premier League games. A lot can be said about Roberto, who is currently not even good enough to tie Lukasz Fabianski's laces.
West Ham will continue to struggle if they don't fix their leaky defence and will be nervously looking over their shoulders. Roberto has to be dropped - he's simply not a Premier League goalkeeper.
As nightmares go, @WestHam’s keeper Roberto is having a rascal.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) 9 November 2019
west ham goalkeeper roberto in howler shock pic.twitter.com/JC6UQ7RHyO
— boleyn badges (@boleynbadges) 9 November 2019
Look at the absolute state of itpic.twitter.com/3lrKWcaWdd
— Wᴇsᴛ Hᴀᴍ Sᴏᴄɪᴀʟ (@WestHamSocial) 9 November 2019
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Roberto (3); Fredericks (5), Balbuena (3), Diop (6), Cresswell (5); Rice (5), Fornals (5), Noble (N/A); Snodgrass (5), Haller (6), Anderson (5)
Substitutes: Yarmolenko (6*), Lanzini (6), Ajeti (6)
STAR PLAYER -
He didn't do too much but he did more than any other West Ham player on the pitch. It was surprising to see the Ukrainian dropped from their starting XI, given he provides some sort of creativity going forward.
This was really hard to choose. They were all bad.
Looking Ahead
After the international break, Sean Dyche travels to his old team Watford in a Premier League game that could be crucial for their fight against relegation.
West Ham, on the other hand, host London rivals Tottenham in the early game in what could be a very tasty affair. Pellegrini needs to sort his squad out - otherwise they are in real trouble. The international break might have come at a good time.
Source: 90min
