West Ham United manager David Moyes was left delighted by midfielder Lucas Paqueta after his role in the Hammers’ 1-0 win over Southampton at the London Stadium on Sunday.
The Hammers sealed victory over relegation-threatened rivals Saints at the London Stadium, with Nayef Aguerd’s first-half header enough to secure three points and take them five places up the table from 19th to 14th, moving them clear of the relegation zone by a point.
While £30million summer signing Aguerd will take the plaudits after his first goal in England and keeping a clean sheet, one of West Ham’s unsung heroes in the game was Brazilian £35.6million acquisition Paqueta, who made ten tackles in the game, the most for West Ham in a Premier League match since October 2012.
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Moyes joked that most Brazilian players, who are more known for flair, skills and goals, are less famous for their tackling, with Paqueta going against the grain against Ruben Selles’ side.
While he wants to see more attacking contributions from Paqueta, Moyes said he was delighted by his defensive work and the lesser-seen qualities he possesses.
“Those Brazilians are tough tacklers aren’t they, that’s why we bought them here for,” Moyes told football.london.
“Let’s be fair, we bought Lucas Paqueta in to score goals, make goals, do lots of other things, but we’re thrilled he’s got another side to him as well which he is, he’s a really diligent, hard-working boy which we like a lot and we want him to make us more goals, score more goals.
“That’s the other side of the game which we are hoping for from him.”
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