Former England international Jermaine Jenas has praised West Ham United winger Andriy Yarmolenko for his performance against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Ukraine international scored the game’s opening goal as the Hammers battled to a 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium, and Jenas was very impressed by his efforts.
“They’ve got a good team,” he said on Match of the Day [28/09; 56:40]. “Really impressed with their forward line, the ability, the creativity in there. Today, I think, Yarmolenko was one of the standout performers in that.
“He takes his goal so well there, Yarmolenko, as he did last week. He’s unlucky not to find the far corner with that one. Really impressive display.”
OPINION
There’s no doubt that Jenas has hit the nail on the head, here. There were a number of solid performers for West Ham on Saturday, from Declan Rice to Ryan Fredericks. However, the man who impressed more than anyone was Yarmolenko, and that’s borne out in Jenas’ praise of him. The statistics show just how involved the former Borussia Dortmund man was on Saturday. As per WhoScored.com, the winger had two shots, one on target, which was the crucial goal. He also produced two key passes during the game, only Pablo Fornals and Sebastien Haller had more in a white shirt. He was fouled twice, as well, which shows that the Cherries were keen to lock him down, something which they clearly failed to do. The 29-year-old made 43 passes at the Vitality, with a terrific 90.7% pass success rate. That was the second highest of any Irons star, behind Fornals once again. He also made five long balls forward, with an impressive four of them finding their man. Truly, this was a wonderful, all-action display from the Ukrainian.
