West Ham United bounced back from their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool last time out as they progressed through to the next round of the EFL Cup with a 1-0 win over Lincoln City.
The Hammers travelled away from the London Stadium to face the League One side and Tomas Soucek's second-half strike was enough to secure the victory for David Moyes.
How did Soucek perform against Lincoln?
Not only did the Czech Republic international score the winning goal in the game, but he also contributed defensively with a solid display in the middle of the park.
Firstly, his goal showcased his nose for goal as a corner from Said Benrahma deflected into his path and he diverted the ball into the back of the net, with a little help from an opposition defender.
He also won four of his five aerial battles and made five clearances throughout the match, as per Sofascore, which shows that the towering technician put his body about and was able to win the majority of his contests in the air to prevent threats from long balls and crosses.
However, Soucek did lose all three of his duels on the ground and only completed 87% of his 63 attempted passes throughout his 90 minutes on the pitch.
However, he was not the star of the show for Moyes as summer signing Konstantinos Mavropanos dominated Lincoln with an impressive performance at the back.
How many duels did Mavropanos win against Lincoln?
The Greek international showed off his excellent defensive instincts and his physical strength as he won all four of his duels against the League One outfit, with a 100% success rate.
He won both of his battles on the deck and both of his aerial contests over the course of the 90 minutes and did not allow an opposition player to get the better of him at any point.
No other West Ham player won 100% of their duels in the match and this illustrates just how impressive the towering colossus' display was to help the team to progress through to the next round.
Mavropanos also made more clearances (five) than Soucek to go along with his far more efficient defensive work, given that his midfield teammate struggled when dealing with duels on the floor.
These statistics show that the ex-Stuttgart star was a dominant force at the back for Moyes as he showed his quality off the ball, albeit against lower-league opposition.
The former Arsenal prospect had the opportunity to showcase his work in possession as he had a whopping 128 touches of the ball and completed an impressive 91% of his 119 attempted passes, which included ten out of 15 successful long passes, as per Sofascore.
Whereas Soucek only completed four long passes and had a success rate of 87% overall, which suggests that he was inferior to the central defender when it came to what they did with the ball at their feet.
Therefore, Mavropanos was the shining light for Moyes on the night as he dominated Lincoln and made a great case for a full Premier League debut ahead of the clash with Sheffield United on Saturday.