West Ham 1-1 Burnley: Player ratings as draw is marred by Westwood injury

Burnley held West Ham to a creditable 1-1 draw on Sunday in their first match without Sean Dyche at the helm since October 2012, despite a horror injury to Ashley Westwood.

The game was marred by the Clarets midfielder suffering a suspected broken ankle in the first half, but his side gathered their emotions to take the lead moments after their teammate had been forced off.

A sleepy opening to proceedings was punctuated by a fine save from Burnley keeper Nick Pope, who tipped the ball away when Jarrod Bowen whipped a shot towards the top corner at the second attempt.

In-form Bowen went close again shortly afterwards but couldn't force it home when Aaron Cresswell's volley was blocked.

Westwood suffered a suspected broken ankle midway through the half. The midfielder made an innocuous challenge on Nikola Vlasic near halfway but his leg seemed to get trapped underneath his opponent. Vlasic was in visible distress and several other players looked away.

The Burnley man received treatment on the pitch for ten minutes but thankfully was able to muster a smile as he was carried off on a stretcher.

Incredibly, the Clarets took the lead immediately after the lengthy stoppage. Jay Rodriguez headed a corner onto the crossbar, but his strike partner Wout Weghorst climbed to nod in the rebound.

Maxwell Cornet should have doubled the lead before half-time, but spurned a golden opportunity when he missed from the penalty spot. The Ivorian had earned it himself, running clear and rounding Lukasz Fabianski before being tripped by the goalkeeper - although replays showed he had trodden on the West Ham man's leg.

Intent on taking the penalty himself, Cornet grabbed the ball from his teammate Rodriguez and placed the ball on the spot. However, the winger dragged his spot-kick horribly wide after a bizarre run-up where he stopped in his tracks and only seemed to put himself off.

Rodriguez went close to adding to Burnley's advantage shortly after the hour mark, but he guided his strike wide from Cornet's cut-back.

Cornet was the villain yet again with 16 minutes left on the clock, needlessly conceding a free kick on the edge of the Burnley box. Manuel Lanzini's perfect delivery was shouldered in by Tomas Soucek to equalise.

Pope was the hero for the visitors in the dying embers, making a trio of excellent saves to keep the scores level. First, the England international tipped Michail Antonio's blasted effort over the bar, before somehow clawing Issa Diop's downward header away from the resulting corner.

Then, in the last minute of normal time, Pope stood tall to deny Antonio again from the angle as he ran in on goal.

Here's how the players rated, with a draw not the ideal result for either side...


West Ham vs Burnley player ratings

1. West Ham (4-2-3-1)

Soucek forces the ball home | Ryan Pierse/GettyImages

GK: Lukasz Fabianski - 2/10 - Absolutely all over the place for Weghorst's header, and went into the book for conceding the penalty. Lucky not to be punished further. Looked shaky throughout.

RB: Ben Johnson - 5/10 - Loose pass in the lead-up to the penalty and then beaten for pace. Got forward well but really struggled against Cornet.

CB: Craig Dawson - 5/10 - Uncharacteristically out of control as Rodriguez got away from him.

CB: Issa Diop - 6/10 - Some crucial aerial interventions against a physical opponent. Denied what looked a certain goal late on.

LB: Aaron Cresswell - 6/10 - A gritty defensive display, winning the majority of his duels and making plenty of recoveries. Attacked with purpose, too.

CM: Tomas Soucek - 7/10 - Given his height, he was beaten a little easily in the air for the opener. Got into some more advanced positions in the second period and that eventually paid off when he knocked in Lanzini's free kick.

CM: Declan Rice - 6/10 - Attempted to single-handedly haul his side back into the game after a quiet first half. His driving runs called serious issues.

RW: Jarrod Bowen - 5/10 - Went close with one good hit, but generally wasn't at his recent high standard.

AM: Manuel Lanzini - 7/10 - Grew in influence and began pulling the strings late on. His perfect free kick was knocked in by Soucek.

LW: Nikola Vlasic - 4/10 - Distraught to be involved in Westwood's serious injury, falling to the ground close to tears. Never really looked like he'd recovered, unfortunately. Subbed.

ST: Michail Antonio - 5/10 - Kept pretty quiet by Burnley's impressive defence. Plenty of good hold-up play as usual but wasn't near enough to the goal. Denied twice at the death but perhaps should have scored.

SUB: Said Benrahma (65' for Vlasic) - 6/10 - His ball-carrying ability posed an immediate threat. Got into some very dangerous positions.

SUB: Pablo Fornals (79' for Lanzini) - N/A


2. Burnley (4-4-2)

Pope was in inspired form | JUSTIN TALLIS/GettyImages

GK: Nick Pope - 8/10 - Excellent save to deny Bowen, and made a good punch under pressure soon after. Three stunning saves late on saved a point for his side. Dominated his box.

RB: Matt Lowton - 5/10 - Passed well enough but only won two out of six duels. Subbed.

CB: Nathan Collins - 6/10 - Not the best on the ball but he was rarely fussed defensively. Impressive for his age.

CB: James Tarkowski - 7/10 - Got through plenty of successful defensive work, marshalling the backline astutely.

LB: Charlie Taylor - 5/10 - Not able to provide an attacking outlet, although Bowen didn't cause him too many issues.

RM: Dwight McNeil - 5/10 - Saw plenty of the ball but frustrated with his end product.

CM: Ashley Westwood - N/A - Suffered a horrible injury when making a tackle on Vlasic, with his leg getting stuck beneath him. Fingers crossed it was not as serious as it looked, but it is a suspected broken ankle.

CM: Jack Cork - 4/10 - Booked for a nasty-looking lunge at Lanzini. Game very much seemed to pass him by. Outmuscled and beaten by Soucek for the leveller.

LM: Maxwell Cornet - 5/10 - His corner led to the opener. Was dead keen to take the penalty but dragged it horribly wide after a quite bizarre run-up. Always involved for Burnley going forward. Needless foul led to the equaliser.

ST: Jay Rodriguez - 6/10 - His header onto the bar inadvertently teed up Weghorst. Went very, very close in the second half. Worked tirelessly as ever.

ST: Wout Weghorst - 6/10 - Generally quiet but rose to get his head to Rodriguez's rebound and nod home. Booked for a clash with Rice.

SUB: Josh Brownhill (30' for Westwood) - 6/10 - Excellent ball over the top which led to the penalty.

SUB: Connor Roberts (61' for Lowton) - 5/10 - Got stuck in defensively.

SUB: Matej Vydra (79' for McNeil) - N/A



Source : 90min