Player Ratings: West Ham slip up
West Ham United slipped up in their quest to return to the Premier League. The Hammers lost 3-2 to promotion rivals Southampton. The Saints were deducted four points as a result of the spy-gate scandal from last season. They are sixth, but would be above the Hammers if they were not.
Nuno Espírito Santo's side could have gone top, with Swansea City losing 5-0 to Queens Park Rangers. They are now third, with Middlesbrough gaining the top spot after their 5-1 win over Bolton Wanderers on Friday night.
West Ham Player Ratings
Mads Hermansen - 5: Was in no-man's-land when Southampton took the lead. Hermansen then flapped at a cross when they got their second. Not much he could have done with the third, but he did make a few good saves.
Kyle Walker-Peters - 6: Allowed Leo Scienza and Ryan Manning too much space. However, produced a fine bit of skill before firing in West Ham's opener. An accomplished finish for a right-winger rather than a right-back.
Konstantinos Mavropanos - 5: Mavropanos got forward when he could and made efforts on goal. However, he could not organise his defense; hence the calamitous way they conceded their third.
Max Kilman - 5: Was often drawn out of position, but nearly scored a wonder goal that came back off the crossbar.
Morato - 4: The thing with having a centre-back play at left-back is that he is often drawn into the middle too often. He was taken off for Ollie Scarles, who is actually a left-back, at half-time.
Jarrod Bowen (c) - 6: Left Walker-Peters exposed defensively. However, Bowen was able to put some good crosses into the box.
Divine Mukasa - 6: Mukasa is more of an attacking midfielder, so having him centrally made West Ham's midfield less solid. Failed to clear the ball when the Saints scored their opener. However, Mukasa did play some excellent through balls and assisted Walker-Peters' goal.
Arne Engels - 6: An excellent range of passing, but an inspired James Ward-Prowse won the midfield battle. Engels did force the Southampton keeper into making a save.
Manor Solomon - 5: Confident on the ball, but another performance that will lead to more fans clamoring for Edvin Austbo to start ahead of the Israeli.
Mohamadou Kante - 6: Kante is being pushed further and further forward every week. He was originally a defensive midfielder, but started up front with Taty Castellanos. He was able to run at Southampton's defense and get shots on goal.
Taty Castellanos - 5: Started ahead of Pablo to be more of a goal threat for the Hammers. However, Castellanos spurned a great opportunity to score. Got into dangerous areas and claimed an assist for Tomas Soucek's goal.
Off the Bench
Ollie Scarles - 6: Was solid when he came on at the break. Should be pushing to start ahead of Morato.
Pablo - 6: Linked up well with his teammates when he came on.
Tom Soucek - 7: Fired in from range, but it was too little, too late.
Edvin Austbo - 7: Took players on, and many supporters will wish he had started ahead of Solomon.
Joel Piroe - 6: Often dropped back to get on the ball to try and make things happen. However, it also left him well away from being in the box.
Today's best reads
Player Ratings: West Ham close the gap on the Swans
West Ham vs. Southampton head-to-head: Results in the last 5 meetings
West Ham vs. Southampton preview: Prediction, team news and lineups
Swansea vs. West Ham preview: Prediction, team news and lineups
Notable players who represented West Ham and Southampton
