Black Stars striker, Inaki Williams shone brightly for his Athletic Bilbao squad on Friday night as they secured a 2-0 victory over Alaves in the Spanish La Liga.
David Moyes gave the kudos to Mohammed Kudus after the Ghana winger helped West Ham come from behind to beat Europa League minnows TSC Backa Topola 3-1.
The Hammers made heavy weather of the opening match of their latest European adventure on a stormy night in Stratford, but headers from £38million summer signing Kudus and substitute Tomas Soucek got the Hammers off to a winning start.
East London was hit by torrential rain before kick-off with water cascading through the roof onto the concourses at London Stadium.
The floodgates failed to open on the pitch in the first half, however, despite West Ham being in the rare position of dominating possession on the soggy surface, and they fell behind after a mistake by Angelo Ogbonna.
“Tonight I thought we did enough to win although I didn’t think we were great in a lot of things we did,” said Moyes.
“The goal was probably our own doing but I didn’t fear the worst. It was a game where we had the lot of the ball and gave us a chance to see if we could do what teams have done to us lately.
"Kudus I thought started really brightly and came up with an important goal when I couldn't really see where we would get one from"
“The mistake changed the game – but it also made us more determined.
“Kudus I thought started really brightly and came up with an important goal when I couldn’t really see where we would get one from.”
The Hammers had 78 per cent possession in the first half, which was the exact opposite of their stats during the recent smash-and-grab win at Brighton.
But Moyes got a taste of his own medicine when Ogbonna dawdled on the halfway line and Petar Sanic raced clear to give the Serbians a shock lead.
However the Hammers, whose last European outing was their triumphant Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina in June, hit back in the 66th minute, albeit in fortunate fashion as Said Benrahma’s cross was turned in at the far post by TSC defender Nemanja Petrovic.
Kudus got his goal four minutes later and Soucek headed the third – with both coming from James Ward-Prowse corners – to finally ease West Ham nerves.
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Ghanaian midfielder, Kudus Mohammed really excelled on his first West Ham United start and found the back of the net to propel them to a precious win in their opening game of the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League season.
Former West Ham star Joe Cole has showered praise on Mohammed Kudus after the summer signing scored his debut goal for the club in their 3-1 Europa League victory over Backa Topola.
Ghanaian international Mohammed Kudus expressed his excitement on Thursday night after playing a pivotal role in West Ham United's victory over Serbian side FK TSC Bačka Topola in the Europa League.
Kickgh.com's Ghanaian Players Abroad expert Gideon Kofi Nyamekye brings you a comprehensive wrap up of how Ghanaian footballers fared for their respective clubs in the three UEFA competitions namely Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League from Tuesday to Thursday.
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Ghana attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus registered his first West Ham goal as the Europa Conference League holders came from behind to beat Serbian side FK TSC Bačka Topola in the opening game of their Europa League group campaign.
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