1. Bowen makes his point
Jarrod Bowen was understandably disappointed to be left out of England’s squad for their October UEFA Nations League ties with Greece and Finland.
But he was also motivated to show not just England interim manager Lee Carsley, but his teammates and West Ham United Head Coach Julen Lopetegui and everybody watching that he still has the quality that saw him net 20 goals last season and earn a place in the Three Lions’ squad for UEFA Euro 2024.
The captain certainly did just that, inspiring his Hammers to a confidence-boosting 4-1 Premier League win over Ipswich Town, assisting goals for Michail Antonio and Lucas Paquetá either side of scoring a trademark one of his own.
Bowen now has 18 non-penalty Premier League goals since the start of last season – more than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur’s Heung-min Son.
Should he maintain the form he showed at London Stadium on Saturday, surely Carsley will look in his direction again soon.
2. Front four find form
For the first time since winning 4-0 at AFC Bournemouth in April 2023, four different West Ham United players scored in the same Premier League match.
Michail Antonio, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, and Lucas Paquetá were all on target in Saturday’s 4-1 home win over Ipswich Town, meaning Julen Lopetegui’s starting front four all found the net.
Antonio got things rolling with a first-time finish from Bowen’s pass on 49 seconds – the quickest goal West Ham have scored at London Stadium in the Premier League – before the No9’s powerful header hit the bar and bounced up for Kudus to nod in the second just before half-time.
Bowen scored a trademark third with a run and left-foot finish before adding his second assist by again running into the penalty area before finding Paquetá for a far-post tap-in.
Incidentally, Antonio and Paquetá also netted in that win at Bournemouth 18 months ago.
3. Top Todibo
At Nice last season, Jean-Clair Todibo was part of the stingiest defence in Ligue 1.
The centre-back started 30 of Nice’s 34 matches as the club from the French Riviera conceded just 29 goals on their way to finishing fifth and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.
As a result, Todibo was linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs before joining West Ham United in mid-August.
The speculation over the 24-year-old’s future meant he did not complete a full pre-season and arrived in east London short of full match fitness and sharpness.
Having worked on that and his strength and conditioning and settled into life in a new country, Todibo showed what all the fuss was about in Saturday’s 4-1 Premier League win over Ipswich Town.
Todibo made a team-high five clearances, but it was other aspects of his game that caught the eye, namely his strength, distribution and willingness to carry the ball out of defence.
The Frenchman completed 55 of his 58 pass attempts, including 51 of 52 ‘short’ passes under 20 yards, while he also embarked on a succession of impressive dribbles from the back.
4. Super Tom
He may not have got his name on the scoresheet this time around, but Tomáš Souček put in another impressive performance for West Ham United against Ipswich Town.
Playing up against his former teammate Kalvin Phillips and the Blues’ long-time captain Sam Morsy, Souček was dominant, winning three aerial challenges and a tackle, making four clearances and blocking a shot from the aforementioned Morsy when the scores were locked at 1-1.
In the second half, the Czech Republic star’s incredible fitness levels showed as he covered every blade of the London Stadium pitch to help the Hammers see out the game comfortably and secure a valuable 4-1 win.
