Danny Murphy has absolutely raved about a West Ham star who has come in for criticism with gushing praise for Lucas Paqueta.
It may not have been a classic but West Ham got the win they so badly needed when Southampton came to the London Stadium on Sunday.
There were just two matches yesterday. But make no mistake had it been a full program, West Ham’s win over the Saints probably still would have been shown last on Match of the Day.
At this stage of the season with West Ham fighting for their Premier League lives, though, winning is all that matters.
Nayef Aguerd’s first half goal turned out to be the winner as West Ham were both denied and saved by the same few square inches of crossbar.
The victory lifted West Ham up to 14th and came thanks to notable performances from the likes of Nayef Aguerd, Lukasz Fabianski, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta.
This was one of Paqueta’s better performances for West Ham.
His neat, one-touch passing stood out – in stark contrast to Tomas Soucek. But it was the Brazilian’s work off the ball for the Hammers that was just as impressive.
Danny Murphy absolutely raves about West Ham star who has come in for criticism with gushing praise for Lucas Paqueta
Paqueta has divided opinion among some West Ham fans, coming in for criticism for his lack of impact since signing for a record £51m from Lyon last summer.
But if this win helps keep West Ham in the increasingly lucrative top flight then Paqueta’s crucial display has gone some way to paying back some of that fee.
And the midfielder’s display certainly caught the eye of one BBC Match of the Day 2 pundit.
Danny Murphy absolutely raved about the West Ham star who has come in for criticism with gushing praise for Paqueta.
‘Brazilian shows he’s up for the fight and the flicks’
“I’ve picked out Paqueta because he’s come in for a little bit of criticism,” Murphy said on MOTD2.
“He came in for a lot of money, big expectation. One thing I saw today is he’s up for the fight, he put a real shift in, especially second half when the game was a bit flat and the fans went flat, Southampton trying to get back into it.
“He showed a real desire to go after the ball, win it back. He’s always got quality on it we’ve seen that many times… they’ve been too heavily reliant on Declan Rice in the middle of the pitch for a long time and he stepped up today. It was as tenacious and as brave a performance as I’ve seen from him with those little bits of quality as well.
“I think now coming to the latter stages of the season when they’re down near the bottom this is what they want to see more of, running back, passing. Physically now he’s used to it. He looks better now physically…
“I think West Ham will be absolutely fine.”
Murphy is spot on.
Paqueta ranked first in three key categories during the must-win match as he won more possession, duels and tackles than anyone else on the pitch.
Let’s hope he can continue this kind of influential performance level for the rest of the campaign.
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