Recovery: After a difficult start to the season, David Moyes is getting West Ham back on track
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)David Moyes has demanded more from Said Benrahma and Kurt Zouma after the pair’s goals sent West Ham into the top half of the Premier League table last night.
A 2-0 victory over Bournemouth at the London Stadium saw the Hammers, who began the night just one place outside the relegation zone, climb to tenth.
Zouma’s opener came in controversial fashion after Thilo Kehrer’s handball in the build-up went unpunished, VAR deeming it had not led directly to the goal.
The goal was his Zouma’s first since scoring in a memorable 3-2 over Liverpool last year and also his first since the cat-kicking storm that threatened to derail his career.
Speaking afterwards, Moyes urged the Frenchman to become more potent in the opposition box, revealing it was part of the reason the Irons signed him from Chelsea in the summer of 2021.
“I’m pleased Kurt got a goal because we bought him partly knowing he had that ability, we saw him do it for Chelsea,” Moyes said. “I’m hoping he can get a few more for us. Overall, Kurt was nice and steady apart from maybe the last 15 or 20 minutes when they went a little bit more direct, put us under a little bit of pressure.
“We’d sort of looked as if we’d stopped playing and stopped trying to get the goal at that period and trying to get the second goal, we nearly sat off it a little bit, let them back into the game a bit.”
Benrahma’s inclusion in Moyes’ starting XI was the only change from the side that had begun last week’s narrow 1-0 defeat at Liverpool, and the Algerian rewarded his manager with a lively display, clinching the three points from the penalty spot late on.
Injuries have prevented Moyes from selecting it often, but the Scot seems to have a clear idea of the majority of his first-choice XI when all his players are fit. The left-wing position, however, is an obvious exception and with Maxwel Cornet closing on a return to add to the Scot’s options, Benrahma’s performance was timely.
“He’s so important for us,” Moyes added. “We need him. He’s a dribbler, you don’t get many dribblers any more, he wants to take people on but as you know, it is his final product. Whether it is a cross, a pass or his finish, so we’ve been trying to get him continually on to it.
“I’ll tell you what he does do, every year he always supplies us goals, I think last year he probably got six or seven and probably six or seven assists as well. He plays a big part, but his form has been in and out and we’re trying to get a little bit more consistency from him.”
