West Ham United handed a debut to young defender Ben Johnson last night.
West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini has told Football.London that he thought full back Ben Johnson ‘did very well’ against Manchester City last night.
The Hammers travelled to the Etihad Stadium last night having beaten Fulham on Friday night, but couldn’t add another win on Pellegrini’s return to his former club.
Sergio Aguero’s second half penalty settled the game, handing City a 1-0 win after Bernardo Silva had been fouled inside the area.
West Ham couldn’t haul themselves back into the game and went home empty-handed, though they did see a surprise debutant in the game.
When the teamsheets were revealed, West Ham fans were stunned to see right back Johnson in the side, starting at left back against the Premier League champions.
It was a real baptism of fire for the 19-year-old defender, but he coped well with City winger Riyad Mahrez before being substituted with an injury in the second half.
Pellegrini has now explained that both Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell were out whilst Pablo Zabaleta wasn’t ready to start, meaning he had to take a ‘big risk’ with Johnson.
However, he felt that Johnson had ‘good answers’ whenever City attacked down his side, adding that he did ‘very well’ as he felt his risk paid off with the youngster’s display.
“Of course it was a big risk. But we didn’t have any other option,” said Pellegrini. “Masuaku is injured, Cresswell broke his toe in the last game, Zabaleta is just coming back from a back injury that he was not able to play the full game. Unfortunately for him [Johnson], this was his first game!”
“But he didn’t do so bad, he had good answers every time they tried to attack down his side. I changed him not for his performance, he had a calf problem. He is also a right back, not a left back but he had to play and he did very well,” he added.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
