West Ham no flash in the pan as Newcastle comeback and Said Benrahma display offer cause for optimism

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David Moyes has long wanted returning West Ham fans to come back to a team unrecognisable from the side which last played in front of them before the pandemic.

Yesterday’s brilliant comeback win against Newcastle suggested he has achieved his goal.

West Ham were trailing 2-1 and up against it at half-time before a second-half fight back ensured they left Tyneside with their first win on the opening weekend since 2015.

After Moyes guided West Ham to a sixth-placed finish and a record Premier League points total last season, many wondered over the summer whether he could sustain his “new West Ham”.

Their second-half display gave a definitive answer.

Driven by Declan Rice, led by Michail Antonio and inspired by Said Benrahma, the Hammers scored three goals in 13 exhilarating minutes to suggest they are not a one-season wonder.

Rice set the tone early in the second half while Antonio, despite missing a penalty, joined Paolo Di Canio as West Ham’s joint top scorer in the Premier League. Steve Bruce complained about the spot kick - from which Tomas Soucek followed up to score - but it was the Hammers who took the initiative after the break.

Benrahma made a statement of his own, too. This is a big season for the Algerian after he struggled in his first year at West Ham. With Jesse Lingard no longer around, Moyes needs someone to step up and there is a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of Benrahma.

He has always been capable of moments of brilliance but drawing big performances from the 26-year-old proved a challenge for Moyes last season.

Yesterday, Benrahma looked like a player who wanted to make a point. From the off he was the first in claret and blue to stand up his opponent and run at them, causing headaches and creating openings.

End product was a problem last season for a player who scored only one Premier League goal after joining from Brentford for £30million.

Against Newcastle he equalised to make it 2-2 and start the comeback before he set up Antonio to smash home the fourth on the break and seal a hugely encouraging win.

“I think you can see a slight change in his play and his development, it can’t always be the Said Benrahma show,” Moyes said.

“It has to be for the team, that is what we’re interested in. At moments we need his individual ability to beat people, score us goals and make assists and he did that yesterday.”

Adding consistency to his game and replicating his final season at Brentford is key. Everyone at West Ham knows what Benrahma is capable of. Sitting in the stands yesterday, coach Stuart Pearce offered unrelenting encouragement to the winger to cause trouble. “Get at him, he’s terrified of you,” shouted Pearce when Benrahma faced up his full back in the second half.

If West Ham can follow up on their win in the opening weeks of the season then it will not just be Newcastle who Benrahma and the Hammers terrify this season.

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