West Ham United fell to a 2-1 Championship defeat against Charlton Athletic at the London Stadium, with Joël Piroe’s debut goal unable to rescue Nuno Espírito Santo’s side. Piroe provided the clearest positive, while Taty Castellanos endured a painful afternoon after missing a stoppage-time penalty that could have salvaged a point.
West Ham player ratings vs Charlton
Mads Hermansen – 5
Beaten twice as Charlton punished West Ham’s defensive shortcomings. Lloyd Jones’ spectacular opener gave him little chance, before Tyreece Campbell found the bottom corner for the second.
Kyle Walker-Peters – 5
West Ham needed considerably more from the full-back areas against opponents willing to defend compactly and attack quickly. Unable to provide enough influence to prevent another frustrating afternoon.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5
Part of a back line breached twice before his afternoon was ended by injury in the 70th minute. Joël Veltman replaced him.
Max Kilman – 5
West Ham had been warned about Charlton’s threat on the counter-attack before the game, but Nuno’s defence still struggled to establish the control expected from the hosts.
Ollie Scarles – 5
Another valuable Championship start for the youngster, although this was a considerably tougher afternoon for West Ham collectively. Replaced by Divine Mukasa with 20 minutes remaining.
Mohamadou Kanté – 4
The clearest indication of West Ham’s first-half problems came at the interval when Kanté was withdrawn for Lewis Orford. Nuno had started him alongside debutant Arne Engels after his assist at Burnley, but the partnership lasted only 45 minutes.
Arne Engels – 6
Thrown immediately into the starting XI following his arrival from Celtic, as confirmed by West Ham before kick-off. A difficult match in which to make his debut, but he deserves time before any major conclusions are drawn.
Jarrod Bowen – 5
West Ham’s captain was unable to provide the decisive moment his side desperately required. Nuno needed Bowen and Manor Solomon to make the difference around the front two, but Charlton kept the Hammers quiet for too long.
Manor Solomon – 5
Unable to reproduce the impact of his goalscoring Championship debut at Burnley. West Ham required more incision in the final third after conceding so early.
Joël Piroe – 7
West Ham’s best moment came from their newest striker. Piroe converted from close range in the 74th minute to score on his full debut and drag the Hammers back into the contest.
The goal was particularly encouraging given Piroe’s extraordinary Championship record. He arrived at the London Stadium having scored 73 goals across four previous seasons in the division.
Our pre-match team selection piece focused on the decision to hand Piroe an immediate start, and his finish was one decision that did pay off for Nuno.
Taty Castellanos – 3
A brutal ending to the afternoon.
Castellanos had the opportunity to rescue West Ham when Conor Coventry handled inside the area in stoppage time, but the striker failed to convert the resulting penalty.
Having scored twice against Portsmouth earlier this month, Castellanos had already demonstrated his quality at the London Stadium. This was the opposite feeling. The miss ultimately denied West Ham the chance to escape with a point.
Substitutes
Lewis Orford – 6
Introduced for Kanté at half-time as Nuno attempted to change the midfield dynamic. West Ham did improve enough to make a contest of the second half.
Joël Veltman – 5
Replaced the injured Mavropanos after 70 minutes and helped West Ham navigate the closing stages while they chased the game.
Divine Mukasa – 6
Given around 20 minutes on his return to West Ham and was introduced while the Hammers desperately searched for a route back into the match. Another useful opportunity for the youngster despite the result.
ReadWestHam Man of the Match: Joël Piroe – 7/10.
