David Moyes hailed the performances of Manuel Lanzini and Vladimir Coufal after Sebastien Haller’s wonder-goal salvaged a Premier League point against Crystal Palace, while speaking to Football London.
With the dust settling after a hard-fought 1-1 draw between two capital city neighbours, much of the post-match discussion will centre on two much-maligned centre-forwards.
While Christian Benteke continued his recent renaissance with a trademark bullet header (before being sent off for two questionable yellow cards) the £40 million Haller provided a timely reminder of his own exquisite qualities with a second-half equaliser.
The former Frankfurt star has always had a penchant for acrobatics but, even by his standards, that thumping overhead kick at the London Stadium was something special.
Haller was not the only West Ham player who proved a point on Wednesday night, however.
Lanzini has not started a single league game in 2020/21 but, after replacing Pablo Fornals at the break and producing a fine second-half display in midweek, the Argentine could be back in Moyes’ XI before long.
“He came on and controlled the ball, gave us something different and it’s what I want from the players who come on – make a difference, be important and play their part,” Moyes said of Lanzini.
“He’s been a bit unlucky not to have been involved and start games but the form of the team has made that difficult
“He is not someone I have given up on, I want to get him back to the levels when we were first here. Maybe his injuries affected him a little bit but then we need to find a way to get him back there.”
One player who is not struggling for game-time is right-back Coufal; perhaps the league’s best bargain signing at £5 million.
The Czech international not only marked Wilfred Zaha out of the game against Palace, he also set up Haller’s wonderous strike with a clever chipped cross.
“I thought he was our best player tonight, I thought he played really well. He’s got an assist but more importantly he knew he’d have a really tough job up against Zaha and I thought he did it well,” Moyes added.
“We knew how good they were down the left but I have to say he played well, the ball for the goal was good but he put in two or three other crosses.”
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