Adrián: Payet is Hammers’ Messi

Adrián was left mightily impressed after Dimitri Payet did his best Lionel Messi impression to rescue a point for West Ham against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Frenchman Payet left five Boro defenders dumbfounded before beating the keeper with a sharp finish to grab a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.

And Adrian, who is well acquainted with Barcelona striker Messi from his time with Real Betis, says Payet’s magic moment was reminiscent of the Argentine forward and praised the 29-year-old for stepping up when the Irons needed him most.

“He’s a magnificent player and it was a like a Leo Messi goal for Barcelona, dribbling past everybody and making a fantastic finish,” Adrian explained.

(Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

“It’s a massive goal for us to get a good point, but we have to keep fighting now.

“We’ve known Dimi for a long time and he trains like he plays.

“It was a game we could have won and could have lost. They got one goal, we had a great chance in the first half and didn’t score.

“In the second half Dimi scored a magnificent goal for us, but I think we showed character on the pitch. We needed to show that and give our best on the pitch – this is the way to win more points.”