Said Benrahma
Manuel Lanzini and Said Benrahma were excellent for West Ham during their 2-1 win over Burnley on Monday night. Lanzini played in an unfamiliar deep-lying playmaker role and was exceptional in dicating the play. Benrahama was confident on the ball, taking his marker on, switching the play, and trying the killer pass on a number of occasions. One such pass was an inch-perfect assist for Michail Antonio’s winning goal. Speaking after the game Moyes was reserved in his praise of Benrahma but showed his pleasure with Lanzini’s performance.
David Moes said: I thought Lanzini was very good, I don’t know if he gave the ball away tonight. He has been a little bit unlucky not to play because I have seen lots of good things from him, he has had a couple of injuries which has seen him falter a little bit and maybe not sure if he was fully fit. He is another one who has played 90 minutes tonight, passed the ball well and helped us play better, he kept it [well], so I am really pleased with Manu because he is someone who I really like and he has done well previously.”
David Moes said: I thought Lanzini was very good, I don’t know if he gave the ball away tonight. He has been a little bit unlucky not to play because I have seen lots of good things from him, he has had a couple of injuries which has seen him falter a little bit and maybe not sure if he was fully fit. He is another one who has played 90 minutes tonight, passed the ball well and helped us play better, he kept it [well], so I am really pleased with Manu because he is someone who I really like and he has done well previously.”The boss then added a final thought on Lanzini’s game and made it clear that the Argentine needs to adapt to this new role in order to remain in the starting XI.
David Moyes said: “He has changed as a player and he has to realise that himself, he is not the same as he was probably since his since injury two or three years ago.”
Following a serious cruciate injury that kept him out of the game for almost nine months, Moyes is suggesting that Lanzini does not have the explosiveness he once did and needs to concentrate on this new deep-lying role if he wishes to become a regular in the Hammers XI. If Monday night’s performance is anything to go by, Lanzini has the talent to do just that. On Benrahma, Moyes was less forthcoming with praise but stressed the Algerian still has a big role to play both this season and in the future.
David Moyes added: “I thought Said did a lot of good things tonight, but I thought there were a couple of things which he didn’t do so well which I think people will see as well and we are looking for the consistency from him,” he said. I have a lot of belief in him.”
David Moyes on Benrahma’s biggest issue: “He needs to be more consistent with his use of the ball. He needs to be more consistent with his decisions. His decisions have to be something we can all understand and we can read, and I actually think he needs to hit the target more often than he has done. I think if he hits the target more often, he had a chance today where he bent one in the far corner, I was hoping that he would score. But I have to say he has been working hard in training, I like him a lot and I do think he has a big impact to play this season but I think in seasons to come as well.”
Both men took their chance to shine at Turf Moor and neither can complain that they do not know what is needed from them to remain in the starting XI going forward. It is up to them now to convince their manager they deserve to become key members of the team rather than the squad players they have been this season.
