'Outstanding': BBC Pundit Garth Crooks Hails Manuel Pellegrini Signing After Chelsea Draw

24 September 2018 17:55

BBC pundit Garth Crooks heaped praise on new West Ham signing following the East London club's 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea.

The West Ham defender helped his side keep Chelsea at bay for the full 90 minutes, and earned his side what could prove to be a crucial point.

AFC Wimbledon v West Ham United - Carabao Cup Second Round

Had it not been for Ukrainian winger ​Andriy Yarmolenko spurning a glorious opportunity, then ​West Ham could have snatched all three points from the five-time ​Premier League champions.


Diop earned a space in Garth Crooks' coveted Team of the Week column for the ​BBC. Crooks explained that this was due to a series of consistent performances, not just one isolated display.


Crooks wrote: ''He was outstanding against ​Everton last week and was unlucky not to make my TOTW then.''


The former ​Tottenham and ​Stoke winger went on to write: ''However, another outstanding performance by Issa Diop and a clean sheet - against Chelsea of all teams, having been battered in the opening exchanges - has not gone unnoticed.''

Crooks concludes the section on Diop by highlighting some stats which show just how dominant the West Ham defender was at the weekend: ''Diop made more blocks (two) than any other player on the pitch and he also had the highest passing accuracy (94.7%) for the hosts.''


After a disastrous start to the season, West Ham appear to have steadied the ship in recent weeks. The Hammers lost their first four matches of the season, but recorded an explosive 3-1 victory against Everton in their fifth. The draw against ​Chelsea takes West Ham out of the relegation zone, but they are not out of the woods yet as there next Premier League fixture is a visit to Old Trafford to take on ​Manchester United.

Source: 90min