An early goal from Michail Antonio earned West Ham a narrow 1-0 win over Burnley at the London Stadium.
The hosts started quickly and after a fabulous slide rule ball from Said Benrahma found Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals was able to cross for Antonio to poke home at the back post after escaping the attentions of Erik Pieters.
West Ham were on top throughout the game but were left to rue their profligacy in front of goal, highlighted by Angelo Ogbonna's point blank header striking the post.
Antonio really is the king of celebrations! ? #WHUFC #WHUBUR ⚒pic.twitter.com/aeFSqzDN2B
— Toby Cudworth (@Toby_Cudworth) January 16, 2021
Burnley never really got going and struggled to get Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood into the game, with a brief rally towards the end far too little and far too late against a West Ham side stoically marshalled by Ogbonna and the impressive Craig Dawson.
Enough of all that, let's do some ratings, eh?
West Ham
1. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Lukasz Fabianski (GK) - 6/10 - Had very little to do, making just the two saves all afternoon.
Vladimir Coufal (RB) - 7/10 - Steady and assured in all facets of the game. Wasn't as noticeable as he is sometimes, but perhaps that shows how on top West Ham were.
Craig Dawson (CB) - 7/10 - Fast establishing himself as Ogbonna's first choice partner. Kept Wood quiet and engaged well in the physical duel, leaving a bit on the Kiwi when required. Made a couple of vital clearing headers.
Angelo Ogbonna (CB) - 8/10 - Colossal in the air and demonstrated his silky footwork with a wonderful piece of skill in the second half. Hit the post with a close range header that he should have scored. Booked.
Aaron Cresswell (LB) - 6/10 - Wasn't required to do an awful lot of defending to be honest, and wasn't that involved going forward. A quiet afternoon equals a good afternoon.
2. Midfielders
Tomas Soucek (CM) - 7/10 - Wins headers for days, and operates as a great box-to-box midfielder link. Another solid performance. Booked.
Declan Rice (CM) - 7/10 - Mopped up in front of the back four when required, and looked to drive forward when the counter attack presented itself. Fizzed a classy free kick just over the bar and showed a tremendous range of passing.
Said Benrahma (AM) - 7/10 - One of his best performances for West Ham to date. Picked up clever positions and showed great intelligence and awareness of what's around him when dribbling with the ball. Surprisingly taken off with over 20 minutes to go.
3. Forwards
Jarrod Bowen (RW) - 7/10 - Will feel that he should have scored with a right foot shot that hit the side netting, but his control for the chance was superb. Full of running and a nuisance.
Michail Antonio (ST) - 8/10 - The days of moaning about Sebastien Haller's hold up play are over, because West Ham's main man is back in town. Scored a clever poachers goal and made everyone around him better.
Pablo Fornals (LW) - 7/10 - Can frustrate at times with his final ball, but delivery was good for Antonio's goal. A tireless runner who is worth his place purely for distance covered.
4. Substitutes
Manuel Lanzini (AM) - 6/10
Andriy Yarmolenko (RW) - N/A
Burnley
5. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Nick Pope (GK) - 6/10 - Couldn't do anything about Antonio's goal, bit of a spectator otherwise.
Matthew Lowton (RB) - 5/10 - Was required to overlap and give Burnley some width, something he did so with little quality.
James Tarkowski (CB) - 6/10 - Occasionally sucked out of position by the deep lying Benrahma, but decent overall. Definitely capable of playing at a higher level.
Ben Mee (CB) - 7/10 - Flick on inadvertently caused Tarkowski to miss his clearance, allowing Antonio to stab home from close range. Was otherwise Burnley's best player, getting countless last gasp blocks in.
Erik Pieters (LB) - 6/10 - Got a bit narrow at times, allowing West Ham the opportunity to get down the right flank with Coufal and Bowen. Did okay.
6. Midfielders
Johann Berg Gudmundsson (RM) - 5/10 - Ineffective on the right hand side, had one tame effort at goal close to half time. Hooked at the break.
Ashley Westwood (CM) - 5/10 - Tidy in possession and doesn't really give the ball away. Lacks the creative spark to make things happen.
Josh Brownhill (CM) - 5/10 - Like Westwood, struggled to influence in the game and really get his foot on the ball.
Robbie Brady (LM) - 6/10 - Has a great delivery on him, and fashioned a couple of half chances with some decent balls in. A hard worker all afternoon, switching to the right after half time.
7. Forwards
Chris Wood (ST) - 5/10 - Normally loves a goal against West Ham, but barely had a sniff. Difficult to see how Burnley score unless it's from crosses into the box.
Ashley Barnes (ST) - 5/10 - Tried his utmost to unsettle Dawson and Ogbonna, but didn't manage to do so. Left a mark on Fabianski before signing off just after the hour.
8. Substitutes
Dwight McNeil (LM) - 5/10
Matej Vydra (ST) - 5/10
Jay Rodriguez - (ST) - N/A
Source: 90min
