West Ham 2-2 Crystal Palace: Player ratings as Eagles come from behind twice to earn draw
West Ham's 100% start to the 2021/22 Premier League season came to an end on Saturday as Crystal Palace held them to a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium.
The Hammers twice took the lead through goals from Pablo Fornals and Michail Antonio, but both were responded to by fine strikes from Conor Gallagher.
The Hammers will certainly be annoyed as they miss the opportunity to go back on top of the Premier League table. For Palace, Saturday's clash saw them get their first goals of the campaign and first point - a welcome relief for new boss Patrick Vieira.
West Ham
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Lukasz Fabianski (GK) 5/10 - The goalkeeper has yet to keep a clean sheet this season, but he couldn't do anything about the two goals conceded on Saturday.
Vladimir Coufal (RB) 6/10 - The Czech did well to shut Palace out.
Angelo Ogbonna (CB) 6/10 - A force in the air for West Ham, as he swatted away every attempted cross and long ball from Crystal Palace.
Craig Dawson (CB) 6/10 - When Wilfried Zaha crossed the ball into a chaotic penalty area and Gallagher converted for the equaliser, Dawson looked lost as the ball was turned in. A brilliant performance undone in one moment.
Aaron Cresswell (LB) 6/10 - The 31-year-old closed down well and was strong in every challenge.
2. Midfielders
Declan Rice (CM) 7/10 - The 22-year-old was incredibly comfortable in front of the West Ham back four. Even when Palace attempted to press West Ham high, Rice was able to find his way out with his clean passing.
Tomas Soucek (CM) 7/10 - The defensive minded Czech controlled the traffic on Saturday for West Ham, while also acting as an aerial threat.
Pablo Fornals (CM) 8/10 - The midfielder got his second goal in two games against Palace. The Spaniard seems to have Midas touch for West Ham at the minute as everything he does seems to turn to gold.
3. Forwards
Jarrod Bowen (RW) 7/10 - The winger was a good decoy for West Ham on Saturday, which allowed the rest of the front three to get through on goal.
Michail Antonio (ST) 8/10 - West Ham's leading Premier League scorer got a first class assist when he waited for Fornals, who gave them the lead. He was rightly rewarded with a goal in the second half.
Said Benrahma (LW) 5/10 - The quietest of West Ham's front three at the London Stadium.
4. Substitutes
Manuel Lanzini (RW) 5/10 - The introduction of the Argentine did nothing to alter the flow of the game and at times he looked a little lost.
Andriy Yarmolenko (CM) 5/10 - The Ukrainian was only on the pitch a matter of seconds and he attempted a shot from distance for West Ham. He looked hungry and committed from the moment he stepped over the white line.
Crystal Palace
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Vicente Guaita (GK) 6/10 - The goalkeeper could do nothing about the two goals conceded. His distribution and handling was excellent.
Joel Ward (RB) 5/10 - The full back looked lost at times against a light footed West Ham attack. He seemed a little lost by the challenge of standing up to Michail Antonio.
Joachim Andersen (CB) 5/10 - The Dane was a force to be reckoned on Saturday as he provided a number of last ditch tackles to deny West Ham in threatening positions. When it came to duels, he lost the crucial one against Antonio in the second half which led to a goal.
Marc Guehi (CB) 4/10 - The former Chelsea man struggled with keeping level with the other Palace defence as they tried to play an offside trap.
Tyrick Mitchell (LB) 6/10 - When Palace attempted to play the ball out, the full back was able to spray passes to the midfield with ease and accuracy.
6. Midfielders
Conor Gallagher (CM) 8/10 - Had an iron set of lungs on Saturday to chase down West Ham and press them on the ball. His performance was rightly rewarded with two goals.
Cheikhou Kouyate (CM) 5/10 - The Senegalese midfielder was tidy with his play, but looked unsettled by the physicality of West Ham.
James McArthur (CM) 6/10 - The Scot was tough in his tackling and precise in his passing.
7. Fowards
Jordan Ayew (RW) 4/10 - While the other West Ham forwards flourished at the London Stadium, Ayew looked put out by the physicality of West Ham and he lost possession a number of times.
Christian Benteke (ST) 6/10 - The striker was all over the place on Saturday, as he kept running back into midfield to win the ball. Palace seemed very uncomfortable with this, as they ended up lacking for focal point when they tried to build up quickly.
Wilfried Zaha (LW) 7/10 - Got forward well and his cross was vital for the second half equaliser.
8. Substitutes
Jeffrey Schlupp (CM) 5/10 - The Ghanaian came on midway through the second half and despite a few decent passes for Crystal Palace, he looked anonymous at the London Stadium.