Sam Allardyce reacts to Wahbi Khazri's rabona howler for Sunderland

Khazri was one of Sunderland’s top performers in the 1-0 defeat at Upton Park, as a tale of missed chances saw the Black Cats fluff the chance to boost their survival credentials.

However, the £9million January capture blotted his copybook in the dying stages when he got in behind the Hammers defence on the left-hand by-line, but then decided to attempt a rabona trick, rather than simply crossing the ball with his left foot.

Khazri missed the ball completely and it trundled behind for a goal-kick, much to the delight of the Hammers fans in front of the Tunisian international.

Allardyce was asked about the incident afterwards and replied: “I can’t comment on that because I might say something I regret.”

In fairness to Khazri though, the 25-year-old continues to thrive as a Premier League player after he was Sunderland’s stand-out attacking player in the East End.

The ex-Bordeaux man hit the bar with a first half free-kick and set up Jack Rodwell for the second of two glaring misses from the midfielder.

“I think that we put in a good effort as a team and had a lot of chances,” said Khazri.

“If we play like that for the rest of the season, then I’m confident that we’ll be alright.

“We had a lot of chances in that second half, but we just couldn’t score.

“I’ve found it easy to settle in to this team and I hope that in the next few matches, I can make more of an impact.”