It was a game that West Ham fans would have felt hard done in by not to get the three points, yet it easily could have gone the other way.
A 0-0 stalemate against newly-promoted Aston Villa might not seem like the worst result on paper, and for the neutral, it was an exciting encounter. But for Hammers supporters, it was a tense affair, and had it not been for Issa Diop, it could have easily resulted in a win for the former Championship team.
The Frenchman spoke out before the game to West Ham’s official website that if the squad as a collective defended together then goals against them will begin to dry up, and on Monday night, the young defender seemingly took this words seriously.
The former Toulouse centre-back was a man mountain at the back for the Hammers as numbers from WhoScored show, with Diop winning the joint-most tackles in defence against Villa as well as being one of two West Ham players to have a 100% record with aerials won.
BBC Sport even awarded Diop, who is valued on Transfermarkt at £31.5m, their Man of the Match honour for the game, citing that the 23-year-old stood up to the plate following Arthur Masuaku’s red card for the Hammers in the second-half.
Indeed, Diop’s performance was encouraging for supporters, who will no doubt be delighted to see the French defender continue his development in the Premier League as one of the most promising centre-backs in the division.
The youngster’s performance against Villa was a sign of the maturity Diop posses for a defender playing only in his second year in the most competitive division in Europe, and with West Ham looking likely to turn a few heads this season, the French youth international will no doubt be a key figure for the Hammers over the course of the year.
