West Ham United are one step closer to reaching the Europa Conference League final following a 2-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar on Thursday evening – but one player's performance should put his starting place under threat.
David Moyes’ men put their poor Premier League form behind them as they continue to shine on the continent and a first European final in nearly 50 years is now within reach, and securing the trophy could potentially give the manager a new lease of life heading into next season.
Said Benrahma put himself in contention to start against Brentford this afternoon following a performance which showcased his vast attacking talents. The winger scored, took six shots in total, succeeded with four dribble attempts, and managed 79 touches, and Moyes will be delighted with his display.
There were a couple of players who were below par, however, mainly in defence. Aaron Cresswell lost possession seven times and won just one duel at left-back, yet it was Thilo Kehrer who was arguably West Ham’s weakest link against the Dutch side, and Moyes should consider ditching him against the Bees.
Will Thilo Kehrer start for West Ham against Brentford?
Against the Eredivisie outfit, the German was, at least statistically, their poorest performer, averaging a Sofascore rating of just 6.5/10.
He played the full 90 minutes yet made only one tackle throughout, while winning just one duel from four attempts, clearly lacking any sort of physical presence on the right side of defence.
Having 43 touches suggests he saw plenty of the ball, though he didn’t exactly do much with it, registering zero dribble attempts while delivering only one cross, which was unsuccessful.
All in all, it was a poor performance from the former Paris Saint-Germain defender and his league displays recently have been rather mixed to say the least.
A woeful display against Manchester City where he was run ragged by Pep Guardiola’s attack was followed by a much-improved showing against Manchester United last week, where he won five of his seven duels and made three tackles. He was vital to their victory, but he just couldn’t replicate it against AZ and Moyes may have a big decision to make considering the German's inconsistency and the Hammers not yet safe.
Will he ditch the £80k-per-week defender for Ben Johnson? Only time will tell. Although they currently sit six points clear of the drop zone, Moyes will breathe a sigh of relief if they even claim just a point from the clash against Brentford which will see the club all but retain their top-flight status.