Lucas Paqueta ban called for after ’embarrassing’ moment in Everton vs West Ham
Lucas Paqueta has come under fire after West Ham secured a point against Everton.
West Ham came away from Everton with a 1-1 draw on Monday after a superb Jarrod Bowen goal saw the Hammers draw level in the second half on Merseyside.
This came after West Ham conceded yet another set-piece goal, as Michael Keane opened the scoring for David Moyes’ side at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The away fans were in full voice, backing Nuno Espirito Santo in his debut as West Ham boss as his side put in a positive performance to earn a deserved point.
This hasn’t distracted from the antics of Paqueta, something which has seen a ban be mooted at the London Stadium.
Lucas Paqueta makes a meal of Vitalii Mykolenko conflict
Nuno left out James Ward-Prowse for West Ham against Everton, leaving many fans pleased with his early work at Rush Green.
This saw the ex-Wolves boss utilise a midfield three of Paqueta, Matheus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa against the Toffees.
There were some plus points to take away from this trio, although the Brazil international didn’t cover himself with glory late in the day.
Paqueta clashed with Vitalii Mykolenko and went down holding his face after the Everton left-back hit out as the Irons man stood over him.
This didn’t go down well with commentator Ian Darke, who took to X on 29 September to voice his frustration with the number 10.
He said: “Embarrassing, Paqueta taking a dig in the ribs and collapsing, clutching his face. So stupid with cameras everywhere to expose the cheating.
“In an ideal world, that should carry a one-game ban for any player trying it (and there have been a few).“
It may have been dramatic from the Hammers forward, but there was contact there, and unfortunately, there would have been no action without Paqueta going down.
Match officials have caused this issue and have to live with the consequence that players will try to buy red cards when their opposition makes silly decisions of their own.
Paqueta let himself down for West Ham again
Unfortunately, the former Lyon man feels that he has to play act in order to have an impact on a game in claret and blue.
The 28-year-old has so much to offer with the ball at his feet, but has truly been unable to showcase this regularly in the 2025-26 campaign.
| Stat (Premier League 2025-26) | Lucas Paqueta |
| Starts | 6 |
| Minutes played | 517 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Expected assists per 90 | 0.09 |
| Dribble success per 90 (%) | 30.0 |
There will be hope that he can do so with the tutelage of Nuno, who was able to get the best out of Morgan Gibbs-White when managing Forest.
The new manager’s first priority must be eliminating this silliness from Paqueta’s game, allowing him to focus solely on scoring and assisting goals for West Ham United.
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