“Individually he was unplayable, fantastic” -Jamie Redknapp and David Moyes reserves special praise for West Ham star player after superb display in win over Leeds
Jamie Redknapp and David Moyes have both waxed lyrical about West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta’s second-half display against Leeds United today.
West Ham picked up a 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Leeds after a slow start to the game. David Moyes’ men weren’t at the races until Leeds took the lead through Rodrigo inside the opening 20 minutes.
But the Hammers soon stepped it up after conceding, with Declan Rice grabbing the equaliser just after the half-hour mark. West Ham turned on the style in the second-half as Jarrod Bowen and Manuel Lanzini wrapped up the win.
Yet, it was Lucas Paqueta’s second-half display which particularly impressed Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports. Redknapp claimed that Leeds were unable to deal with Paqueta’s influence on the game from the middle of the park.
“I feel today individually Paqueta in the second-half was unbelievable,” Redknapp said. “Unplayable.”
David Moyes also had this to say about the Brazilian midfielder
“I thought we played with some real freedom. The shackles were off and Paquetá was fantastic. Pablo Fornals played as well as he’s played for a long time today, and Declan plays well all the time but he played very well today as well.”
Paqueta seems to be finally settling in at West Ham after making the switch from Lyon last summer.
The 25-year-old has been used in a slightly deeper role for the Hammers, but he’s been exceptional recently.
He completely ran the show at the London Stadium today and it certainly benefited West Ham to have that kind of composure in the middle of the park.
Of course, West Ham will now be fully focused on the Europa Conference League final after beating AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. But it’s a good sign for the Hammers that their best players seem to be finding their top form at just the right time.