It was the moment West Ham United fans had been waiting for when Said Benrahma stood on the sidelines ready to enter the fray at Liverpool.
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But with just a couple of minutes of the 90 remaining it all felt a little bit too late.
You could hardly call it throwing caution to the wind.
But David Moyes threw the Algerian on alongside Manuel Lanzini in the hope it might spark another dramatic stoppage time equaliser with memories of the Tottenham game still fresh in the memory.
Benrahma makes his West Ham bow
The reality, though, was West Ham had spent the entire game so focused on defending that it was difficult to flick the switch to attack mode.
But for Benrahma it marked progress. His first taste of the Premier League, his first West Ham action and somewhat inevitably given his outrageous skills, his first nutmeg.
One of Benrahma’s coaches at Brentford famously said the playmaker could ‘nutmeg a mermaid’.
And despite his short time on the pitch he managed a cheeky one on the touchline after a neat exchange of passes.
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Benrahma knows it will be goals and assists he is judged on in the top flight rather than skill.
He may have only got a few minutes under his belt.
But the 26-year-old delivered his verdict on his first appearance with a message to fans and an ominous warning to West Ham’s next opponents Fulham on Twitter.
“I’m glad I got the opportunity to play my first minutes with West Ham, but disappointed by the result,” Benrahma said on Twitter.
“I’m sure we’ll be back stronger next week against Fulham.”
🇬🇧 I’m glad I got the opportunity to play my first minutes with West Ham, but disappointed by the result.
I’m sure we’ll be back stronger next week against Fulham ⚒ #SB10 pic.twitter.com/gFfsi7Tggg— SaidBenrahma11 (@Benrahma2) November 1, 2020
West Ham’s next opponents know all about the mermaid nutmegger
Those words will come from a place of supreme confidence after Benrahma hit the headlines by dismantling the Cottagers last month in the Carabao Cup.
The attacker scored two goals in a 3-0 win for Brentford.
But it was his stud roll, Cruyff turn nutmeg and 25-yard strike that made all the headlines.
The performances of Scott Parker’s side are much improved since that game.
But West Ham will be hoping for a repeat performance from Benrahma this weekend if he gets the nod from Moyes.