EPL – What We Learned – Watford 2 West Ham United 0

EPL – What We Learned – Watford 2 West Ham United 0

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Watford overpowered West Ham at Vicarage Road over, with Odion Ighalo scoring twice in a 2-0 win.

The last time West Ham began a league season in a more resplendent manner than they have this, bell-bottoms were the fresh new style and the Bee Gees were all, for the better or worse health of popular music, ‘ah, ah, ah, ah stayin’ alive’. Their’s has been a truly special first 10 matches, some rollicking wins and some rollicking losses. There has been no shortage of excitement for Hammers fans under Slaven Bilic and it is a truly ambrosial nectar following the dour Sam Allardyce years.

Watford came into this match placed above all of their promoted colleagues and appear especially stolid under Quique Sánchez Flores, conceding remarkably few goals for a side in its first Premier League campaign for a while. They had not beaten West Ham at Vicarage Road in the league for more than 30 years, and so, to try and end that run, Flores fielded a team bristling with verve and muscle, with two former Hammers on their bench. Bilic started James Collins in place of the injured Winston Reid once again, and Victor Moses regained his spot after sitting out last weekend. But the most striking change was the inclusion of Andy Carroll in the starting lineup, a clear signal of intent from Bilic that, looking at the imposing Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, he was keen to match his opponents in that regard. If nothing else, the injured Diafra Sakho has earned a rest – among the strikers, he has covered the second most mileage in the league.

Watford, as it turned out, ended that 30-year record, winning with style and dominance, as West Ham succumbed to their own mistakes and ill-discipline. A howler by Andy Carroll on his own byline and a regulation clearance fluffed by James Tomkins, meant Watford ran out 2-0 winners, with Collins getting himself sent-off to add a bitter coating to the Hammers’ performance. Flores’s side were clearly the better group, and their twin strike force of Deeney and Ighalo pinned back West Ham, thrashing them into submission.

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