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The Hammers have been notoriously poor away from home this season and David Moyes believes one player is responsible for their defensive troubles
West Ham United manager David Moyes has blamed his team's massive away defeats this season on the absence of Arsenal’s star midfielder Declan Rice, following Sunday's crushing 5-0 loss to Chelsea.
Chelsea battering brings defensive woes to the fore
West Ham trailed by three goals at Stamford Bridge after a poor first-half effort as Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, and Noni Madueke took advantage of defensive failings. Despite a brave attempt from the Hammers, Nicolas Jackson's brace in the second half added to West Ham's woes, ending in their sixth road defeat this season with four or more goals conceded.
Moyes blamed his team's defensive shortcomings on Rice's transfer to Arsenal, after the England international’s £105 million move from the Hammers to the Gunners last summer. With Rice's absence in midfield, West Ham have failed to control opponent attacks, resulting in a streak of big losses away from home. The Hammers' loss against Chelsea was their fifth defeat in six away games across all competitions.
Moyes claims losing Rice critical to West Ham’s collapse
When asked why his West Ham team were so defensively frail, Moyes replied, "Declan Rice." He pointed out Rice's critical role in protecting the defence and restricting opponent attacks, saying, "We’ve lacked protection in front of the back four, we’ve lacked good enough defending, we’ve just not been good enough on those things in many games."
With 70 goals conceded in the Premier League so far, Moyes acknowledged that his side had fallen short defensively, lacking adequate protection in front of the back four in many games.
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