Kurt Zouma was pleased to make his return to Premier League starting XI as West Ham United battled to a point from a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday.
The French defender made his first appearance at London Stadium since a 2-0 win over Everton in January, having played his first 90 minutes since recovering from injury in the UEFA Conference League round of 16 first leg triumph at AEK Larnaca on Thursday.
With consecutive starts under his belt, Zouma recorded 95.5 per cent passing completion, as he partnered with Nayef Aguerd in a centre-back pairing.
“I’m feeling good,” explained Zouma, who made his 50th appearance for the Club in Cyprus. “I've had a been a few injuries and it hasn’t been easy, but my family and the staff have helped me.
“I have been lucky because everyone has been behind me. I have managed to play two games in a row, two 90-minute games is very good, but I am ready to keep playing and keep going.”
The French centre-back was part of a solid showing in east London, which limited the visitors to only a handful of attacks. While Ollie Watkins’ converted Villa’s first shot on target on 17 minutes, the Hammers struck a quick response through a Saïd Benrahma penalty – the Algerian’s 20th for the Club.
Zouma was of course delighted for his teammate as the Hammers stretched their unbeaten run to four games at home – and ten in head-to-head meetings with Villa.
“We know he has the ability to score,” Zouma enthused. “He is the main taker of penalties. I haven’t seen him miss one. I am happy for him. He could have scored more today but he helped us get back into the game.
“It should have been three points today. We played a good game, we had many chances to score, but we couldn’t [finish them]. But that’s football, we got a point, we didn’t lose but obviously, we need to get wins.
“That was their only chance as well. The only chance they had in the box they scored, and they made the breakthrough. It is going to be hard until the end of the season, everyone can win but we believe in ourselves, we have the quality and we need to show it on the pitch.”
