Jeff Stelling praised Said Benrahma for showing a ‘different’ side to his game during West Ham’s 2-1 win at Elland Road at the weekend as he told Soccer Saturday (25/09/21 at 3 pm start)
The Sky presenter was making reference to the West Ham playmaker’s defending and how it is something he wouldn’t have done last season.
It was an end-to-end affair between the thriving Hammers and Marcelo Bielsa’s side, and in truth, there probably should have been more than just the three goals in the game.
Regardless of the opposition, Leeds are the type of side to open up a game a lot more, with their front-foot nature and man-to-man marking.
David Moyes even admitted, after his side score a late winner through Michail Antonio, that his players got ’sucked into’ Leeds’ all-action style.
And during the game, Paul Merson and Jeff Stelling spoke about an ‘absolutely brilliant’ moment involving Benrahma when he tracked back to defend a counter-attack from Leeds.
“What a sliding tackle by Benrahma,” said Merson. “That’s how end-to-end it is. He has just slide it back to the keeper.”
Stelling added: “By the way, that shows you what a different player Said Benrahma is to this season compared to last season. Absolutely brilliant getting back there.”
That’s one area of the game Moyes has improved since returning to the London Stadium and that is getting his players to work their backsides off.
West Ham’s running stats and work off the ball has probably been one of their biggest improvements under the Scotsman.
And when a luxury-like player in Benrahma is busting a gut from a defensive standpoint then it’s obvious that a lot of things have changed.
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