West Ham United: Alan Shearer gushes over Alphonse Areola after what he did v Everton
Alan Shearer has gushed over West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola after his man-of-the-match performance in the 3-1 win against Everton at Goodison Park.
After a first-half penalty save kept the Hammers in contention, a string of top stops in the second half laid the groundwork before Thomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez scored two late goals to win it.
The Frenchman has been one of the most consistent performers at the London Stadium so far this season, drawing high praise throughout and cementing his place as the number one.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast [4 March], Shearer gushed: “The keeper was brilliant though, wasn’t he? Areola was fantastic. A man-of-the-match performance, save after save after save.
“It was a great win for West Ham going there and beating them, it’s a tough place to go there, Everton. Great win.”
West Ham need players like Alphonse Areola to step up
With pressure ramping up on David Moyes’ place as West Ham boss, he needs his big players to step up more than ever, and against Everton, it was Areola who took centre-stage and rescued all three points for the under-fire manager.
Back-to-back wins have eased tension in East London, and the whole team will now look to push on both domestically and in Europe off the back of two impressive performances.
Last week’s win against Brentford saw Jarrod Bowen as the man to step up with a fantastic hattrick to help his side to a 4-2 win at the London Stadium, boosting his bid for a place in the England squad this summer as well as strengthening his manager’s position.
But can Moyes keep surviving based on individual performances? As long as results continue to go his way, you’d probably think so. Questions remain about his future at the club, but should this new-found winning run continue, the board’s mind could be made up.
In other West Ham news, Kieran Maguire shared a new financial update at the London Stadium.
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