OPINION
West Ham United managed to avenge their defeat to Watford at the weekend with a much-needed victory over Southampton on Thursday, and there were plenty of talking points to take away from the game.
A quick-fire double in the second half from Felipe Anderson sealed all three points for the Hammers despite Nathan Redmond initially putting the hosts in front at St Mary’s Stadium.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side appear to be coming into form once again after suffering a bit of a wobbly patch recently, and Thursday’s victory has only reinforced that fact.
As usual there is plenty of things to take away from this result, and Forever West Ham have rounded up the three things learned below:
Antonio needs to be axed
Michail Antonio was asked to deputise at right-back against Southampton due to Pablo Zabaleta being out because of illness, and it was clear quite early on that he was unable to demonstrate any type of versatility, especially in the first half. It is evident that playing in defence is not his main strength, and for that reason, the £70,000-a-week [Spotrac] player must be axed for the Hammers’ next game against Burnley.
Anderson redeemed himself
Felipe Anderson had a pretty poor first half by his standards and was unable to stamp his mark on the game, but that completely changed in the second half. The Brazilian playmaker was incredible in the second half, and he is looking more like the £35 million that was paid for him more and more with every goal. The 25-year-old is beginning to fill the void left by the departure of Dimitri Payet – and before he knows it, he will be a firm fan favourite at the London Stadium.
Perez was poor
Lucas Perez had started to show fans a glimpse of what he could do recently, but that certainly was not the case against Southampton. He had a clear-cut chance to put the Irons ahead in the first half, but he completely scuffed it, much to the fans frustration. Perez cannot be wasting such glorious opportunities – as his two goals this season, both which came against Cardiff, are simply not enough to warrant him numerous starts.
