Sky Sports pundit expectedly raves about ‘outstanding’ Lucas Paqueta in West Ham United defeat v Olympiacos
Chris Iwelumo has unexpectedly raved about Lucas Paqueta’s goal as it came against the run of play in West Ham United’s Europa League defeat to Olympiacos.
David Moyes’ side’s 17-match unbeaten run in Europe came to an end on Thursday (26 October) as they were beaten 2-1 by the Greek side, thanks to first-half goals from Kostas Fortounis and Rodinei, the second coming courtesy of a huge deflection from Angelo Ogbonnna.
The Hammers made seven changes to the starting XI that were beaten by Aston Villa in the Premier League but Sky Sports pundit Iwelumo was keen to heap praise on substitute Paqueta after his “outstanding” strike late in the game gave the Irons hope of a potential European comeback.
Speaking on Sky Sports News (26 October, 19:33) he said: “A goal that came against the run of play but an outstanding strike from Paqueta!
“One moment of quality and it’s game on!”
Moment of quality
There are few players as capable of that single moment of magic in the West Ham squad as Paqueta as the Brazilian has the knack of being incredibly quiet throughout games before producing one moment that can turn a game completely on its head in an instant.
For much of his substitute appearance on Thursday, the 26-year-old struggled to get up to speed with the match as he made a couple of clumsy fouls and misplaced a few simple passes. But then he turned on that magical touch in the final few minutes to score a genuinely outstanding goal.
It looked as though Paqeuta may well have salvaged the Hammers a point as well as only minutes later he whipped in an incredible cross with the outside of his left boot that picked out the head of Tomas Soucek, only for the Czech midfielder to head over the crossbar.
Ultimately, the Brazilian may not have managed to produce enough quality to pull the Irons back into the contest, but his cameo from the bench in the Europa League served as a reminder of just how good he can be, especially after producing a disappointing display against Villa last time out.
In other West Ham news, Moyes has slammed his fringe players as he has stood by his team selection in the Hammers’ defeat to Olympiacos