(Video) Dimitri Payet scores long-range free kick for Marseille, first goal since walking out on West Ham

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Dimitri Payet scored the first goal of his post-Hammers career on Wednesday night as the former West Ham icon netted Marseille’s second in a 2-0 win over Guingamp.

Of course, it came from a free kick, albeit via a heavy deflection.

Since Payet last pulled on a West Ham shirt on January 6, the Hammers have won three games in four.

West Ham fan and guest writer Darren Chapman wrote the following column this week (before Payet’s goal vs Guingamp).

No Payet, no problem… Hammers win again as Bilic smashes even more records

By Darren Chapman

When Slaven Bilic revealed that Dimitri Payet was refusing to play for West Ham, Hammers fans feared the worst. Yet Saturday’s win was their third in four games since the unhappy Frenchman was sold.

The win was West Ham’s 25th Premier League win under Slaven Bilic – no manager has reached this landmark quicker. Last season under Slaven, West Ham finished in 7th place with 62 points – a record number for the team in the Premier League. They also scored 65 goals in the campaign, which again was another record they broke.

Bilic signed Payet and made him the player he is to this day. This is why I feel the Frenchman was very disrespectful in the way he handled himself during January’s transfer saga.

Massive respect goes to Slaven for the way he came out to the media and revealed the news about Payet. Since then West Ham have become more like a family.

They thrashed Crystal Palace 3-0 at the London Stadium and recorded 3-1 away wins at Middlesbrough and Southampton.

Despite a blip at home to Manchester City, West Ham are into the top half of the table. There have been rumours that Roberto Mancini was spotted at the London Stadium and was in line to replace Slaven Bilic.

But, again, Bilic remains calm on his future and claims he loves the club and wants to be part of this new project.

The way he’s handled himself and the players this year has been a breath of fresh air.

He didn’t panic, stayed calm and now the club will look to carry on climbing the Premier League table.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @darrenchapman7.

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