West Ham central defender Kurt Zouma has endured a spell of self-inflicted controversy in recent weeks but a star performance against Wolves could be just the tonic.
The 27-year-old put all of the issues to one side and was at the heart of a hard-fought victory for the Hammers as David Moyes’ side maintained their hopes of achieving a top-four finish.
It was another previously struggling star in the shape of Tomas Soucek who scored the only goal of the game as the Czech Republic ace banished a recent spell of indifferent form with an important strike shortly before the hour mark.
"My grandpa came for the first time and he supported me from my childhood" ❤️
Look at the joy on Tomáš Souček's face that his 'grandpa' saw him score the winner 😊 pic.twitter.com/yA7gRvoxYc
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 27, 2022
Having kept a first clean sheet in two matches, after the match, Moyes was full of praise for Zouma in particular.
I thought Kurt was exceptional today. Strong, commanding, he had a couple of incredible blocks late in the game when we needed him. He was powerful in the air and aggressive at times. He won a great race on a one v one situation in the first half. I thought Kurt played well.
The Frenchman earned an 8.20 Sofascore rating for a display containing a 3/3 aerial duel record, a 2/2 ground duel record and 10 clearances.
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Given the recent controversy, it might be safe to say Zouma needed that.
Solely focusing on this performance, the £28.8million valued defender was outstanding and was determined to maintain to keep Wolves out at all costs.
Here’s how we rated the rest, including match-winner Soucek…
XI: Lukasz Fabianski 6; Ben Johnson 7, Craig Dawson 6, Kurt Zouma 9, Aaron Cresswell 7; Tomas Soucek 7, Declan Rice 8; Jarrod Bowen 6, Pablo Fornals 7, Manuel Lanzini 7, Michail Antonio 7.
Subs: Nikola Vlasic NA, Issa Diop NA.
