Red card in London derby sums up terrible week for Mohammed Kudus

When Mohammed Kudus gave West Ham United the lead in the Premier League's early kickoff on Saturday, it was a silver lining the attacker really needed.

The goal itself was a pretty simple effort by Kudus’ standards — he is certainly capable of the spectacular, isn’t he? — that saw him sweep the ball into the roof of the net from inside the box, at the end of a move that he had a kick or two in creating.

It was only his second strike of a sophomore season that hasn't quite been characterised by the devastating form with which he went about his business last term, his first as a Hammer, and he marked it with his now customary “take a breather” celebration.

Kudus’ goal came 18 minutes in and definitely stunned a Tottenham Hotspur side that went into the international break having squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton and looked to emerge with a positive result at home. This time, though, it was Spurs coming up with the stirring comeback, turning the game on its head with three quick goals in the second half and running out 4-1 winners.

The final act, however, belonged to Kudus — and it was one he'd get no applause for.

An altercation in the 84th minute saw Kudus floor a couple of Spurs players, deservedly getting dismissed for it. It's the first straight red card Kudus has ever received, and just the second time he has been sent off — the only other occasion came back in November 2019, playing for FC Nordsjaelland against Lyngby in the Danish Superliga, in stoppage time of a game that had seen him find the back of the net earlier.

Kudus isn't known to be a hot-head, of course, and it was probably just the frustration of another bad day for West Ham in an already torrid first season under Julen Lopetegui that spilled over — or, more likely, it was an over-the-top response to a week that had seen Kudus reach crushing lows with both club and country.

Last Tuesday saw a Ghana team he skippered — for just the second game — lose 2-0 to Sudan, leaving the Black Stars’ hopes of reaching next year's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) completely out of their hands and hanging by the faintest of threads.

Kudus himself had a difficult game, as he did in the reverse a few days prior, unable to inspire despite the talismanic role he already had and the extra responsibilities he now bore on the sleeve (as well as on the back of his shirt, where the No.10 previously assigned to some of the best players in Ghana's history exerted its own pressure).

Fittingly, he issued a heartfelt apology to a nation that looked up to him over a qualification campaign [almost definitely] gone wrong.

And now it appears he may just owe the West Ham faithful one, too — though that might be too much of an ask, considering his sending-off came at a time the team was already very well-beaten and he was, in any case, their only goalscorer all afternoon.

That may well earn him a reprieve from the fans, but Kudus would still feel the sheer weight of these setbacks. His suspension for West Ham's upcoming league games, though, should give him ample time to reflect — over a bowl of his favourite brand of gari, perhaps — on all that has gone awry these last few days and recover from the cumulative emotional effect.

Hopefully, he'll return stronger.