{"id":1696,"date":"2026-04-28T13:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1696"},"modified":"2026-04-28T13:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:18:26","slug":"jamie-carragher-sees-shades-of-virgil-van-dijk-in-unplayable-west-ham-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=1696","title":{"rendered":"Jamie Carragher sees shades of Virgil van Dijk in ‘unplayable’ West Ham star"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It was deja vu for David Moyes as West Ham United delivered another blow to Everton\u2019s European prospects at the London Stadium.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Virgil van Dijk broke Hill Dickinson hearts six days earlier when he crashed a 100th minute header past Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby. This time, it was Tomas Soucek\u2019s turn to convert from a set-piece. <\/p>\n

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Moyes knows the \u2018brilliant\u2019 Soucek better than almost anyone in football. Twenty-seven of his 38 Premier League goals came under the former West Ham United boss from 2021 to 2024, after all. <\/p>\n

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How will the Premier League table look when it\u2019s all said and done? \ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n

West Ham are in a precarious position with 4 games to go! \ud83d\ude2c<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Tomas<\/div>
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But knowing Soucek\u2019s strengths and stopping him from using them are two very different things.<\/p>\n

Tomas Soucek haunts David Moyes as West Ham United beat Everton<\/h2>\n

Two months after Soucek made Premier League history \u2013 overtaking Patrik Berger as the most prolific Czech player in the competition \u2013 the long-serving West Ham powerhouse marked his 200th start in trademark fashion. <\/p>\n

\u201cListen, this has been a feature of the Premier League all season, just people crowding the six-yard box,\u201d Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports\u2019 Monday Night Football opposite Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, that is something people think they can get goals from.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Tomas<\/div>
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Carragher felt that, as frustrated as Everton will be, there was not a huge amount the visitors could have done better. Jarrod Bowen\u2019s delivery was right on the money \u2013 pace, power and precision \u2013 while a flurry of Toffees defenders were reduced to looking like flies around a buffalo as Soucek thundered home.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoucek, who David Moyes knows very well, is one of the best in the league (when it comes to heading). Sometimes, things are pretty unplayable,\u201d added Carragher.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think of the two players who\u2019ve scored against Everton in Soucek and Van Dijk. Certainly two players you put right at the top in terms of aerial ability when that ball comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall reflects on last-gasp London Stadium loss<\/h2>\n

We at Hammers News <\/strong>asked our TalkingPoint <\/strong>users pre-match which Everton player they would like to see in claret and blue. Dewsbury-Hall finished top of the poll, ahead of Pickford, Iliman Ndiaye and co. <\/p>\n

He again demonstrated his own goalscoring qualities from midfield with a fizzing volley in the 88th minute.<\/p>\n

That would count for nothing in the end, however. Bowen reached double figures for assists while Callum Wilson prodded home in stoppage time.<\/p>\n

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DISCUSS: Callum Wilson is NOT a starter for West Ham even despite his late goal vs Everton \ud83d\udc40<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\u201cYeah, I mean, ultimately a very disappointing result for us in the end,\u201d said Dewsbury-Hall, whose side have slipped to eleventh albeit while remaining only two points behind Bournemouth in seventh. <\/p>\n

\u201cVery frustrating, especially after equalising late on. (We were) deflated after full-time, as you can imagine. But like I said, it\u2019s not a time where we can dwell on it. We\u2019ve got four massive games till the end of the season and we\u2019re still very much in the race (for Europe).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t see me because I\u2019m quite small against some of the big players, but yeah, I\u2019m just in between Soucek and Pickford at the moment,\u201d the former Chelsea midfielder added, swatted aside as Soucek opened the scoring. <\/p>\n

\u2018Unplayable\u2019 indeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy role probably there is just to try and keep anyone away from Jordan from the corner, to keep him as free as possible. So getting in between him and Soucek was my role, and hoping that it didn\u2019t lead to anything. <\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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