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Soungoutou Magassa only played the final half hour or so as West Ham United picked up three massive Premier League points at Fulham but, make no mistake, he more than played his part.
Magassa dropped out of Nuno Espirito Santo’s XI at Craven Cottage, replaced by Callum Wilson as the head coach opted to start with Mateus Fernandes and Tomas Soucek behind a front two.
And when the Frenchman entered the frame in the 60th minute mark, it would only take another few moments before Crysencio Summerville displayed ‘magnificent’ composure to punish a horror mix-up in the Fulham backline.
Magassa MARVELLOUS at Fulham! 🇫🇷 💯
But what should his role be at West Ham?
Soungoutou Magassa might not have played much of a role in Summerville’s winner – West Ham United are now level on points with Nottingham Forest in 17th – but his Craven Cottage cameo was a masterclass in how to help a team see out a result away from home.
Soungoutou Magassa did not miss a single pass as West Ham United beat Fulham
Every one of Magassa’s ten attempted passes hit their target.
It wasn’t just a case of popping it backwards and sideways either. With one of his first touches off the bench, the £14 million signing from Monaco opened up his body and swazzed a gorgeous ball out wide to Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Photo by MB Media/Getty Images
In another instance, with Fulham pressing high in a desperate attempt to find the equaliser, Summerville was forced back into his own half before laying the ball off to Magassa. With two home players storming towards him, Magassa simply lofted a sublime chip over both of their heads, taking a pair of Fulham men out the game while setting El Hadji Malick Diouf away on the counter-attack.
If not for an offside call, West Ham might have clinched the win from a breakaway Magassa started.
There were a couple of intelligent defensive contributions as well; his telescopic legs put to very good use as West Ham soaked up late pressure from a side who ended the game with 60 per cent possession.
Who was your MOTM against Fulham and why? 🤔
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images Magassa cameo a perfect response after a difficult start to 2026
It has not been an easy few weeks for the France Under-21 international.
Magassa struggled to make his mark against Burton Albion, a team from the third tier, in the FA Cup. Until Freddie Potts’ red card in that very same game, he appeared to have slipped to fourth in Nuno’s central midfield pecking order.
This, then, was a timely reminder of what Magassa can bring to proceedings in the right circumstances.
Not to put words in Nuno’s mouth, but we imagine his instructions to the Paris-born 22-year-old before he entered the fray would have sounded a bit like this; ‘keep things steady, shore up the midfield, and do not give the ball away in dangerous areas’.
In short, ‘bring us the composure and steel we need to hold onto the lead’.
On one of his brighter nights in claret and blue, Magassa followed his manager’s demands to the letter.
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