West Ham United made it back-to-back Championship wins with a commanding 3-0 victory over Derby County at London Stadium.
Joël Piroe struck early, Edvin Austbø made an impact from the bench and Nuno Espírito Santo’s side finally produced the defensive control that had been missing during the opening weeks of the season. West Ham finished with 3.06 xG to Derby’s 0.10, while the visitors failed to register a shot on target.
Here are our West Ham player ratings vs Derby.
West Ham player ratings vs Derby
Mads Hermansen – 6
Had very little conventional shot-stopping to do because Derby failed to test him properly. There were still a couple of hesitant moments when dealing with balls into the box, but a first league clean sheet of the season is welcome.
Joël Veltman – 7
Came into the side for Kyle Walker-Peters and justified the change. Experienced, composed and rarely allowed Derby to build much down his side.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 8
Another strong performance after scoring against Wolves. Dealt well with Derby’s more direct approach and helped West Ham finally produce the defensive authority Nuno has been demanding.
Max Kilman – 8
Calm alongside Mavropanos and played his part in restricting Derby to virtually nothing in front of goal. This was considerably closer to the level expected from West Ham’s senior centre-backs.
Ollie Scarles – 7
Kept his place despite Adama Boiro arriving before the deadline and delivered another assured performance. Provided energy on the left and gave Nuno no obvious reason to take him out of the side.
Our West Ham squad guide tracks the increased competition now facing Scarles and the rest of Nuno’s first-team group.
Arne Engels – 8
West Ham look considerably more balanced with Engels in midfield. Controlled possession well and helped prevent the game becoming the end-to-end contest Derby would have wanted.
Divine Mukasa – 8.5 – STAR MAN
Did not repeat his two-goal Wolves heroics, but his influence remained obvious.
Mukasa appeared everywhere through midfield and continued to justify Nuno’s decision to keep him in the XI after his breakthrough performance earlier in the week. Supporter reaction during the game repeatedly highlighted just how involved he was.
We said after Wolves that Mukasa had given Nuno a decision he could not ignore.
He is rapidly turning that decision into a very easy one.
Jarrod Bowen – 8
A constant attacking threat.
Bowen registered seven attempts and repeatedly found dangerous positions, even if the final pass or finish did not always arrive. Derby never looked comfortable dealing with West Ham’s captain.
Manor Solomon – 7
Another lively display without quite delivering the decisive moment himself. Helped West Ham stretch Derby and maintained the attacking balance that worked against Wolves.
Joël Piroe – 8
Exactly what West Ham needed from him.
Piroe opened the scoring after just six minutes and gave Nuno’s side immediate control of the match. His early finish forced Derby away from the game plan they would have preferred.
West Ham have since published Piroe’s reaction to the victory, with the striker saying the side are beginning to click.
Taty Castellanos – 6.5
Worked hard after returning to the starting XI and occupied Derby’s defenders, but Piroe ultimately supplied the decisive attacking contribution alongside him.
Substitutes
Adama Boiro – 6.5
Made his West Ham debut late on and helped see out the clean sheet. A straightforward first appearance.
Edvin Austbø – 8
A superb impact from the bench.
The Norwegian arrived late in the transfer window and has wasted little time showing what he can offer. His late goal effectively killed the contest and gives Nuno another attacking option to think about.
Morato – 6.5
Another new signing handed his first West Ham minutes. Little time to dramatically influence the game, but helped close out a comfortable afternoon.
Other late substitutes – 6
Not enough time for meaningful individual assessment.
Nuno finally gets the balance right
The most encouraging element was not simply the scoreline.
West Ham scored four against Wolves but still looked vulnerable for periods.
Against Derby, they combined attacking threat with genuine control.
Our match report from the 3-0 victory details how comfortably Nuno’s side eventually dealt with the visitors.
Two wins in succession have now changed the early picture considerably.
You can track the campaign through our West Ham fixtures and results page.
Mukasa may take the highest rating again, but this felt much more like a team performance than Tuesday’s individual breakthrough.
