Edson Alvarez showed his class for West Ham – especially when he wasn’t on the pitch

It was a change David Moyes had no wish to make and one that had huge implications.

The manager was planning to bring on Said Benrahma for Tomas Soucek. The scoreline was 1-1 but then €40million (£34.4m) summer signing Edson Alvarez signalled to the bench that he could not continue.

Benrahma replaced the midfielder in the 68th minute and Manchester City capitalised by scoring twice — via Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland — within 20 minutes of Alvarez’s substitution.

“Hugely,” said Moyes when asked if Alvarez coming off was the turning point in the game. “I was a bit worried because he’d been booked and he actually gave a free kick away outside the edge of the box. I didn’t know how many more he’d get away with, but ideally we wouldn’t have taken him off.

“He didn’t get back until 4pm on Thursday. His flight was delayed coming back from Atlanta, so to get the boys back and trying to get them ready for Saturday was really difficult.”

The midfielder featured in Mexico’s 3-3 friendly draw with Uzbekistan in Georgia in the early hours of Thursday morning. After Saturday’s loss to City, the 25-year-old told reporters he was fine.

Defeat to the reigning Premier League champions was Alvarez’s fourth league appearance. Since his arrival from Ajax, the midfielder has shown how important he is defensively. He had been on West Ham’s radar for a few seasons but, in the summer, a German club came close to securing his signature.

“Borussia Dortmund was a very concrete option,” said Alvarez. “In the end, it didn’t work out, but there was a lot of interest on their part, including visits to Amsterdam to meet with my family.”

Moyes played a 4-2-3-1 formation against Manchester City. Soucek and Alvarez (No 19) were the midfield duo and the latter often positioned himself in front of the back four. The graphic below is West Ham’s average team position from the 1st to the 68th minute.

Alvarez is much deeper than Soucek (28) as he provides support to Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd. Notice how Emerson (33), James Ward-Prowse (7) and Lucas Paqueta (10) are in sync. Defensively the trio aimed to nullify Manchester City’s threat via the right flank.

When West Ham were in possession, Alvarez occasionally played in a back three with Aguerd and Zouma.

But, as seen in the graphic below, Alvarez’s main responsibility was to play the anchor role in front of West Ham’s defence. It is the role he played in victories against Brighton & Hove Albion and Luton Town.

From the 1st to the 68th minute, Manchester City’s average team position was much higher than their opponents. Right-back Kyle Walker (2) was in an advanced position, so too was Josko Gvardiol (24). Manuel Akanji (25) was on the halfway line, while Ruben Dias (3) was deeper. It is worth keeping an eye on Erling Haaland’s (9) position as it changes dramatically when Alvarez is substituted.

The midfielder points to his right thigh when Soucek approaches him. Alvarez walks off the field but his departure results in West Ham losing their defensive solidity.

From the 69th to the 90th minute plus added time, the home side become exposed down the right flank.

Emerson (33), Paqueta (10) and Ward-Prowse are no longer in sync. Aguerd (27) and Zouma (4) are further apart and Soucek (28) is way too deep. No one is able to replicate the anchor role in Alvarez’s absence.

Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager, uses this to his advantage and makes a tactical tweak.

He plays Walker (2) more centrally, with Gvardiol (24) and Akanji (25) joining Dias (3) in deeper roles. But the two biggest changes are Silva (20) playing further out wide and Haaland’s average position being in the penalty area.

Here are two examples of how West Ham struggled without Alvarez.

Five minutes after Silva scored to make it 2-1, Manchester City are on the attack again. Notice the space in the middle with Ward-Prowse unable to match Haaland’s pace. Zouma and Aguerd are closing down Walker, which leaves Vladimir Coufal in a vulnerable position.

Walker spirits past Zouma and threads a pass to Haaland, whose shot is saved by Areola.

Once again, Manchester City are on the attack down the right flank. Silva is in possession and there is a moment where Moyes has his head in his hands. He knows what’s about to happen. Zouma, Ward-Prowse and Soucek are out of position. Matheus Nunes’ run attracts Coufal and Aguerd, which results in Silva assisting Haaland for his seventh league goal this season.

Alvarez has adapted seamlessly to life at West Ham. In the 22 minutes he was not on the field, his absence was a reminder of how valuable he already is.

(Photo: Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)