Nottingham Forest 2 – West Ham 0
Areola:8 Elanga made a great stop in 4 minutes. Forced into action again at 28 minutes, then again two minutes later with a save at Awoniyi’s feet. Another excellent save to save an Elanga shot early in the second half. A very busy boy.
Coufal:4 Forest’s two greatest chances in the first half came from this spot. Forest had easy pickings, and Coufal received a bloody nose, both physically and symbolically.
Zouma:6 Forest understandably targeted me. Won some aerial fights, but appeared ponderous at times.
Aguerd:5 I rescued Kudus and Emerson from an early game mix-up. Awoniyi outperformed me in Forests’ opening game. Moved to left defense, but was caught off guard by Williams for West Ham’s second goal.
Nottingham Forest 2 West Ham 0 Aguerd watches Gibbs White shoot.
Emerson:4 One of his weaker games.
Alvarez: 5 Constantly combating fires.
Phillips:4 Bowen’s setup allowed for a relatively calm shot. Made some tackles. On a day of poor discipline for West Ham, he was sent off after 72 minutes for his second yellow card.
Ward Prowse: 5. I really struggled to find a lethal pass against a disciplined Forest defence.
Bowen:4 Back in his preferred wing position, but easily contained. I’m surprised the wingers weren’t switched in the first half given how much they struggled. In the second half, a feeble shot was easily saved.
Kudus:5 Booked early in the game and faced a difficult battle with Williams.
Antonio:5 Had a chance to run on goal midway through the first half, but Murillo was equal to it. I became angry with the officiating but never gave up trying.
Substitutes: Cornet replaced Antonio in the 75th minute. I had an early chance to score but missed the ball. We were fortunate not to concede a penalty.
Johnson came on as a substitute for Coufal in the 75th minute.
Soucek: 83rd-minute sub for Emerson.
Ings: 92nd-minute sub for Zouma.
