Carlton Cole raves about Said Benrahma after West Ham draw v Genk
West Ham earned a 2-2 draw against Genk away from home in their Europa League clash on Thursday night.
After conceding an early goal, West Ham returned strongly in the second half. With goals from Said Benrahma gave them a 2-1 lead, but a late own goal from Tomas Soucek means they left Belgium with just one point.
Carlton Cole has suggested that the Hammers were really unlucky to have not picked up a win here. However, they have qualified for the knock-out stages.
The former West Ham striker was pleased with the second-half display, and has reserved praise for Benrahma, saying his two goals were of “high quality”. He wrote on Twitter:
“Strong performance on our travels. Genk showed that they are [a] decent team and West Ham had to show some fight to get back into the game. Said Benrahma showed why he’s so highly thought of with his 2 goals of high quality. West Ham desperately unlucky not to win [Hammers sign].
Spot on
Benrahma has been in very good form this season. The Algerian has scored six goals in all competitions, and has provided three assists in the Premier League as well.
The 26-year-old is a fantastic attacking midfielder and there’s more to come from him.
Cole is absolutely right that the Londoners are a bit unlucky not to have earned a victory here. However, the key thing here is that David Moyes’ side has qualified for the knock-out stages.
At the same time, the Hammers have been able to maintain their unbeaten run in this competition, and there is a high chance that they will end up as group winners.
The focus now shifts back to the Premier League where West Ham will take on Liverpool on Sunday. The Reds are yet to suffer a defeat this season, and the fixture promises to be a cracker.
In other West Ham news, Declan Rice has revealed what the Hammers squad did for Moyes after his 1000th game in football management.