It’s time to stop doubting West Ham star Said Benrahma after his goalscoring performance against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Hammers opened the scoring in the 20th minute, courtesy of a Benrahma stunner from outside the box.
Although it was against the run of play, David Moyes would have been livid at seeing his side give up their lead just before half-time. Little did he know that the same thing would happen in injury time to spell defeat and leave the side just two points above the relegation zone.
Benrahma’s performance was enough to eradicate the doubts surrounding him, according to The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas, who took to his fans’ discussion forum after the disappointing 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Via The Athletic, Thomas said: “FT: #WHUFC 1-2 #CPFC. Two points above the relegation zone and another poor performance. What’s holding back West Ham right now? This team isn’t playing to their full potential.”
And in a separate comment, came to the defence of Benrahma, who endured a hit-and-miss start to the season, courtesy of a lack of minutes granted by Moyes
He followed up with: “I think people can stop doubting Benrahma now….”
When West Ham signed Benrahma back in 2020, he had just come off the back of a sensational scoring campaign in the Championship that saw him find the net on 17 occasions, with a further nine assists taking his attacking returns to a whopping 26 in 46 games.
Hammers fans would have been expecting the Algerian to transition some of that goalscoring form to the London Stadium, but if we’re being honest, it hasn’t gone that way so far.
The 27-year-old’s highest return total in the Premier League comes in the form of eight goals and six assists from 32 appearances – a respectable total.
And just when you think he’s in contention to transition that form into the new season, he sees his minutes cut short, with his consistency as a forward doubted.
Including the reverse fixture against Anderlecht, Benrahma has played three full 90-minute games, scoring two goals and garnering a man of the match award for his efforts against Bournemouth.
Another positive performance from an individual perspective against Crystal Palace, in what was an overall dismal game from the Hammers, has surely cleared doubts surrounding his name.
The number-22-wearing trickster is a game-changing player and can make something from nothing.
That will be crucial for Moyes, with his side getting sucked into a relegation battle.
