West Ham United suffered their sixth defeat of the Premier League campaign at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, and the result left them just two places and three points above the relegation zone after 13 games.
The Hammers found themselves 3-0 down 49 minutes into the game, but late goals from Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna gave them a glimmer of hope.
It was too little too late, though, and there is now a lot of pressure on manager Manuel Pellegrini more than before.
Goalkeeper Roberto was very poor once again, doing very little to prevent Son Heung-min’s goal, and while West Ham continue to miss the impact of the injured Lukasz Fabianski, they were handed a massive injury boost over the weekend as Antonio returned to action.
The forward, who had been unavailable since August, came off the bench for the second-half of the game, and he was an inspired substitution.
Pellegrini will hope Antonio’s return will help improve his side’s fortunes in front of goal and help bring out the best in the struggling Sebastien Haller.
Veteran pundit Rodney Marsh has sent a message to the Chilean on Twitter ahead of West Ham’s trip to Chelsea, telling him playing the 29-year-old forward and skipper Mark Noble is a must.
>Next game West Ham should. play Antonio & Noble plus any other 9…….
— Rodney Marsh (@RodneyMarsh10) November 23, 2019
Noble was another player that put in an impressive shift against Spurs, and the 32-year-old has been one of the Hammers’ best and most consistent players this season.
West Ham visit Wolverhampton Wanderers after the Chelsea trip before games against Arsenal, Southampton, Crystal Palace and Leicester City to round up the year, and the duo could play a huge role in ensuring they enter 2020 on a high note.
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