James Collins wowed by ‘incredible’ Lucas Paqueta in first half of West Ham United v Liverpool
BBC pundit James Collins lauded West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta for his “incredible” strike against Liverpool at the London Stadium on Wednesday [26 April].
West Ham are aiming to pull further clear of the drop zone as they took on Jurgen Klopp’s Reds on Wednesday evening and had the Brazilian maestro to thank for handing the Hammers a priceless lead inside 12 minutes.
Paqueta showed tremendous courage up against the Liverpool midfield and defence, playing a wonderful one-touch pass and move with Michail Antonio before unleashing an unstoppable drive past Alisson Becker.
And Collins, speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live commentary for the game [26 April, 7:59 pm] could not hold back on his praise of the former Lyon playmaker.
He said: “That’s an incredible hit.
“Liverpool have had all the possession but West Ham break, it’s a lovely one-two and then a wonderful strike from Paqueta.”
Man on fire
Much had been made of Paqueta’s slow start to his West Ham United career failing to show why he’s previously been considered as one of Europe’s most highly-coveted creative commodities on the continent.
The Brazilian looked a shadow of the player that excited fans for Lyon last season, but in the last month or so, he has truly showed his quality as David Moyes’ men have enjoyed an upturn in form in recent weeks.
And what a tremendous goal he scored against Liverpool to take his impressive form to three goals and two assists in his last three games in a West Ham United shirt. The 26-year-old is a man on fire right now and is finally proving his worth to Moyes and the Hammers faithful.
It seems as though Moyes has found the perfect position for him to perform to the best of his abilities, lining up in front of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek and behind the lone-frontman Antonio. That is where the former Lyon man works best and Moyes has finally realised that.
With the Hammers still chasing a coveted European trophy at the end of the season, Paqueta equally remains the club’s best chance of achieving just that. More of the same, please. Superb player.