Lucas Paqueta had a game to forget as West Ham suffered a 3-2 loss to Aston Villa at the London Stadium.
West Ham United were 2-1 up at half-time, but collapsed in the second period and came away with nothing from the game.
Mateus Fernandes and Jarrod Bowen’s goals for the hosts proved to be worthless as they could not hold on to their lead on two occasions.
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And was this Mateus Fernandes' best performance yet?
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Lucas Paqueta once again lets West Ham United down
Paqueta proved to be more of a liability than an asset for the Hammers on Sunday as he offered little to nothing in midfield.
Nuno Espirito Santo deployed him as a number 10 and the Portuguese surely will have been let down by the Brazil international.
Paqueta’s stats make for awful reading…
This was his WORST EVER performance for West Ham…
West Ham Lucas Paqueta
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His worst moment of the game came when the hosts conceded their second goal of the game.
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Paqueta found himself in a decent position and he had the chance to play the ball forward and advance the game.
However, he got dispossessed without offering a fight for the ball and it was all Villa needed to claw their way back into the game and equalise.
The 28-year-old’s passing was also awful, as he had an accuracy of just 67 per cent in the opposition half.
He lost all four of his ground duels and failed to complete a single take-on.
This was arguably his worst performance of the season.
Lucas Paqueta reacts during West Ham United v Brentford - Premier League
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Who can replace Paqueta against Manchester City?
After that display, it is evident that Nuno cannot start Paqueta against Manchester City on 20 December.
Soungoutou Magassa, Freddie Potts and Fernandes did well in the middle of the park and it does not make sense to disrupt that trio.
Instead of Paqueta, Nuno needs to start Callum Wilson as he will offer a goal-scoring threat and he could look to stretch the City defence.
Alternatively, the Portuguese could deploy a back three and have the Brazilian out for either Max Kilman or Igor Julio.
He needs to drop Paqueta after his poor displays on and off the pitch in recent weeks to send a message to the dressing room that every player on this side has to earn their place in the eleven.
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