Maximilian Kilman believes his West Ham United side deserved to beat Crystal Palace to earn their first Premier League points of the 2024/25 campaign.
The Hammers were put under pressure during the opening 45 minutes in SE25, as Oliver Glasner’s side created several clear-cut chances of their own, most notably when Eberechi Eze saw his shot well saved by Alphonse Areola, Odsonne Édouard dragged his shot wide when one-on-one and Eze’s effort cannoned back off the underside of the crossbar.
But after an improved second half performance at Selhurst Park, Tomáš Souček opened the scoring after 67 minutes with a side-footed finish, and Jarrod Bowen doubled the lead five minutes later after latching onto Kilman's superb pass to hand Julen Lopetegui his first competitive win as Hammers boss.
The 27-year-old was outstanding overall, adding six clearances, three interceptions and a tackle won, while also completing 88.7% of his team-high 62 passes.
Kilman, who has been part of Lopetegui’s squad after being reunited with his former Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach in July, put in a stellar performance in defence alongside Dinos Mavropanos, and assisted Bowen’s effort after intercepting Eze and powering forward from inside his own half before releasing the captain to score.
“It was amazing. To get the first win for my new Club and get our first three points is amazing, and we’re all delighted," Kilman told whufc.com. "We were a bit nervy at the start, as we know coming to this stadium is tough, but as the game went on, we started to create some more chances.
“[For my assist] I looked up and had a lot of space, and I know Jarrod [Bowen] has a lot of quality, and the finish was top class. To get a clean sheet and win away from home means everything.”
Alongside his own impressive performance, Kilman hailed the performance of debutant Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who played an instrumental role in the Irons’ opener, racing 50-plus yards down the right wing to turn defence into attack.
“He [Aaron Wan-Bissaka] did really well," the centre-back said of the former Palace player, who impressed off the substitutes' bench. "He is a top player and deserves all the credit he gets today, as does everyone else, as we all worked hard out there. We deserved the three points in the end."
