Kurt Zouma was immensely proud as teammate and friend Nayef Aguerd netted his first goal for West Ham United in a 1-0 win over Southampton on Sunday afternoon.
Starting together for the second straight Premier League fixture, Zouma and Aguerd proved an unbeatable duo as the Irons secured a valuable clean sheet, with the Morocco international also providing the moment of quality to settle the match at the other end.
With 25 minutes played, Aguerd rose highest to convert a delicious free-kick from Thilo Kehrer, a goal that saw the Irons move out of the bottom three and remain unbeaten on home turf in 2023.
“It’s a very good header from Nayef,” explained Zouma, who has combined to keep two clean sheets and earn seven points in three games in partnership with his fellow Francophile. “I tried to get on his nerves a bit yesterday (Saturday) by saying: ‘he will never score here’ but I am very happy for him!
“Nayef deserves it. He has been playing well since he came back from injury. And hopefully, other players will [take inspiration from him] and score in the next game.”
At London Stadium, Aguerd capped his tenth successive Premier League start for the Club with this first goal for nearly 18 months. It was a moment of pure delight and one that was just reward for the hard work the Moroccan defender has undertaken over the past year or so.
After sustaining an ankle injury in a pre-season match at Rangers in July last year, a long road to recovery for Aguerd saw the No27 return just in time to feature at the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals for his country.
Having helped the Atlas Lions reach the last four in Qatar, Aguerd has been impressive in Claret and Blue, with Zouma lauding the hard-work of his teammate, who has quickly become a fan-favourite in east London.
“Since Nayef joined, I have tried to help him because he did not know England very well,” Zouma stated. “But I think he has settled in very well, we are like a family here and we all help each other as much as possible.”
Starting in his third straight home fixture, having played his part in a 4-0 win at AEK Larnaca to reach the UEFA Europa Conference League last eight and also a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa last month, Zouma helped his side register an eleventh point from their last five home league assignments.
He might have doubled the lead against the Saints too but unlike Aguerd headed a set-piece over the crossbar.
And so a nervy final few minutes followed, although Aguerd and Zouma led the defence through to the final whistle. The reward a positive result and another clean sheet.
With a home game with Newcastle United and trip to Fulham to come this week, Zouma is adamant the Irons must continue the work over the next few days.
“I think we did the job,” enthused Zouma. “But it was a tough afternoon for everyone, fans included. It was good to get a clean sheet for the confidence for us defenders, but it is good to get a win as well, although it is not done yet.
“We are on a good run at home. But we need to get some points away now. There are some tough games to play but we need to take it game-by-game. We have another game on Wednesday and hopefully, we can keep [the unbeaten run] going."
