OPINION
Alan Shearer gushed about the performance of Everton defender Yerry Mina against West Ham and seemed to imply the centre-back wowing caused Sebastien Haller to struggle.
The former Premier League icon named the 25-year-old Toffees defender in his TOTW and pointed out the Colombian submitted a dominant display which saw Haller not get a sniff of the ball.
“This was a powerful display by the Everton defender,” wrote Shearer on the official Premier League website.
“They needed a leader and he fitted the bill.
“He was dominant at the back and didn’t give Sebastien Haller a sniff for West Ham United.”
The Hammers were very disappointing across the board on Saturday and it’s fair to say Haller didn’t have the best day at the office.
The 25-year-old only touched the ball 44 times which was the second-lowest amount of touches of any Hammer who started Saturday’s game, and he only managed to register one shot on target. (Source: WhoScored)
Haller struggled to assert any form of dominance on the game and you feel his inability to outperform Mina was a clear factor as Football.London journalist Sam Inkersole even pointed out that the attacker found himself out on the right-wing chasing balls down, which was likely a result of Mina stopping him having any luck from a central position.
After all, Shearer is spot-on to say the defender was dominant as he made two tackles, three interceptions, two clearances and even had time left over to register two shots on target, which ironically was more than Haller managed. (Source: WhoScored)
While Haller has to find a way to excel even when up against a defender playing at the top of his game as he is the Hammers main source of goals currently, you do feel his struggles weren’t all his fault.
When you consider not all the centre-backs he faces in the coming weeks will be playing at Mina’s level, also he likely won’t face an in-form defender at the same moment his entire team seem to drop the ball and suffer a dip in form, he’ll likely soon get back to his best.
So hopefully with that in mind, Haller will have more luck against Sheffield United even though the Blades have a fantastic defensive record this season.
