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Adama Traore was one of the biggest winners on the pitch as West Ham United beat Brentford to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time in ten years.
After a pulsating 2-2 draw, West Ham beat Brentford 5-3 on penalties on a brilliant night at the London Stadium.
Who was West Ham’s BEST PLAYER against Brentford?! 🤔
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Nuno Espirito Santo made seven changes from the West Ham team who beat Fulham in the Premier League on Wednesday and still got a positive performance and result.
It wasn’t all perfect, of course, so Hammers News looks at the winners and losers from the game.
Winners Adama Traore
It would be fair to say that Traore hasn’t impressed West Ham fans since he signed for the club, albeit his lack of action does need to be taken into account.
On Monday, however, Traore surely put in his best performance to date.
The Spaniard won the penalty from which Jarrod Bowen scored in normal time and looked like much more of a threat than he has done at all in claret and blue.
The jury remains out on whether Traore will prove to be a successful signing but Monday night’s 45 minutes of action certainly felt like a step in the right direction.
Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesPablo Felipe
What welcome relief it was to see Pablo Felipe back in action for the Irons.
Pablo’s return from a calf injury comes at exactly the right time for the Hammers, who need all the help they can get on the attacking front this season.
Ally gets it 😎 Where should Pablo Felipe play for West Ham – as a No.9 or a No.10?
Credit; Getty Images/Ben STANSALL / AFP
Indeed, Pablo played well for West Ham against Brentford, with his boundless energy helping Nuno’s side press from the front.
That was a strong return to form for the January signing.
Mohamadou Kante
There has been much excitement here in east London about Mohamadou Kante but the teenager did not particularly impress in West Ham’s last FA Cup assignment, which came away at Burton.
Kante has just given Nuno something to think about! 🇫🇷
What did you make of his performance?
While that’s understandable given the midfielder is still only 20 and lacks experience in first-team football, Kante put in a very strong performance against Brentford.
The Frenchman looked a real talent up against a central midfield boasting the likes of Jordan Henderson, a seasoned operator at elite level.
Losers Soungoutou Magassa
It was not a particularly productive night for Soungoutou Magassa, however.
Magassa was coming off a fine cameo against Fulham last week but he did not impress when he replaced Kante in the 76th minute during normal time.
The Frenchman completed only 74% of his passes and attracted some audible groans from fans inside the London Stadium at times with some of his decision making.
There’s no need to write Magassa off entirely, but this was a reminder that he remains a work in progress.
Ollie Scarles
The same can be said for Ollie Scarles, who was replaced by Ezra Mayers at half time.
Clearly, Scarles is a young player who has done well at times this season, so for that he deserves a huge amount of respect – particularly for coming back into form after his mistake against Fulham in December.
However, Scarles failed to take his chance here and still looks some way off positional rival El Hadji Malick Diouf in terms of quality.
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