West Ham United boss Nuno Espirito Santo was full of praise for one of his Hammers stars in midweek.placeholder image
West Ham United boss Nuno Espirito Santo was full of praise for one of his Hammers stars in midweek. | AFP via Getty Images
West Ham were held to a late 1-1 draw against Manchester United in midweek, but one star stood out
West Ham United took another step towards Premier League safety on Tuesday night, though Manchester United equalised late on through Benjamin Sesko to leave the London Stadium with a 1-1 draw.
Nuno Espirito Santo saw his side continue with the spirited recent form which has seen the east London outfit claw their way back into the thick of the relegation picture, with three wins in five matches which have left the battle at the bottom of the table wide open.
The Hammers boss was full of praise for one of his players at full-time on Tuesday night, calling out a sometimes unsung Hammers hero who caused problems for Man United during the closely fought draw in midweek.
Nuno singles out Tomas Soucek after performance vs Man United
Nuno praised West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek after his performance and goal led the Hammers towards what was almost a priceless victory at the London Stadium, against a side who came into the match on the back of four successive wins.
Soucek has seen his critics at points this season and spent some time outside of the starting XI, before ousting the likes of Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa in recent weeks, starting alongside Potts against United. The 30-year-old scored a momentous goal on a personal level on Tuesday night, his 39th in the Premier League to become the highest-scoring Czech of all time in the competition, surpassing Patrik Berger.
Getting in front of Lisandro Martinez at the near post, Soucek displayed all of his goalscoring instincts and finished through the legs of Senne Lammens with a deft touch of his left boot to open the scoring just after half-time.
Nuno said of Soucek in his post-match interview: “Having Tomas Soucek in the middle of the park allowed us to contain them better. Tomas has this quality where he is always able to find space and score. And besides that, he did an amazing job during the game.”
‘I did my maximum’ - Soucek speaks on record and United draw
Soucek spoke with great pride of achieving his record at full-time, while he noted the role captain Jarrod Bowen played in his goal.
“I’m really proud to break the record, because I’m always proud of where I am from,” Soucek said. “I am from the Czech Republic, and I want the people there to be proud of me.
“I did my maximum to get this record, after I was level for so long with Patrik Berger, who was an incredible player. Now it’s mine, and I’m so happy. It was a great goal, after Jarrod made a great run, and I was just in the right place at the right time.
“Obviously, the result is tough to take. It’s devastating with how it happened, and it feels similar to what happened at Chelsea [a 2-0 lead becoming a 3-2 defeat] a couple of games ago. But, on the other hand, we have to look at the positives, rather than these small moments.
“We’ve shown how much we care and how well we can play, and we need to build this momentum because the spirit in the changing room right now is so different to a couple of months ago. We just need to keep working and carry on.”
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