Mark Noble put in a brilliant performance as he led West Ham United to a 4-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth.
On the chalkboard
David Moyes will have been looking for impressive performances across the pitch during his first game back as Hammers manager, especially from his captain, and that is exactly what he got.
The Scotsman even sung Noble’s praises after the game, telling BT Sport: “What they [the players] had to show to the supporters of West Ham was commitment and attitude, and nobody epitomised it more than Mark Noble.”
This is praise that was thoroughly deserved, following a highly influential performance from the 32-year-old.
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Superb performance
The most obvious contribution is the two goals that he scored either side of Sebastien Haller’s acrobatic effort, which ensured that West Ham went into half time with a comfortable lead.
There were also benefits from his usual combative style in the middle of the pitch, as the captain worked well defensively, completing two tackles, two interceptions and one clearance.
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In addition to that, he was efficient once he had the ball at his feet, completing the one dribble that he attempted, maintaining a pass completion rate of 87% and playing one key pass.
The 32-year-old also got plenty of the ball, with Declan Rice being the only West Ham player to exceed the 5.1% of the game’s overall possession that he saw.
All of this saw Noble named as Man of the Match by WhoScored with a rating of 9.2 – 0.7 ahead of the closest competitor: Ryan Fredericks.
Indeed, Moyes couldn’t have expected much more from the club captain upon his return to London Stadium.
Wednesday will definitely be a day full of encouraging signs for the Scotsman and the biggest of those will arguably have come from Noble.
In other news, West Ham fans reacted to one revelation about Manuel Pellegrini from ExWHUEmployee.
