West Ham United manager David Moyes heaped praise on Mohammed Kudus following the midfielder’s outstanding performance in the Hammers’ victory over Backa Topola in the Europa League.
The 23-year-old made a memorable contribution by scoring his debut goal, which played a crucial role in West Ham’s comeback win at the London Olympic Stadium.
Kudus, who had recently joined West Ham from Ajax during the summer transfer window, made his first start for the club. The English side faced an early setback as Topola took the lead in the early second half through Petar Stanic.
However, Kudus turned the tide of the match when he forced an own goal from Nemanja Petrovic, leveling the score in the 66th minute. The former Ajax star then netted a goal himself just four minutes later, giving West Ham the lead. Thomas Soucek sealed the comeback victory with a goal nine minutes from time.
Moyes was full of praise for Kudus’s performance, especially his ability to step up when needed. The manager acknowledged that Kudus had started the game strongly and, despite a brief dip in form, came through with crucial goals.
“I thought Mo started the game really well, and the team was playing well in the opening 20 minutes. He faded away, but in the end, he came up with one and maybe two goals, I’m being told, so I’m really, really pleased for him,” said Moyes after the match.
“He’s made a good start, we like him a lot and we’ll edge him in when we get the opportunities in the right moments to do so. I’m pleased because we needed someone to come up with goals tonight and he was the one who did it,” he added.
