Mixed emotions for Lanzini on 50th Hammers appearance
Manuel Lanzini could only look back at his 50th appearance in a West Ham shirt as a bittersweet experience, as his goal wasn’t enough to prevent defeat to Chelsea at the London Stadium.
The 24-year-old signed permanently from UAE side Al-Jazira in the summer, with a £9.4m price tag exemplifying the impressive start to life at the Hammers after a loan spell last season.
That has seen the midfielder quickly rack up a half-century of matches in the claret and blue, though the celebrations were put on hold as Eden Hazard and Diego Costa ensured Premier League leaders Chelsea prevailed in their Monday night clash.
(Photo by Kieran Galvin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
But they couldn’t prevent a sixth goal of the season for Lanzini however, though it was only to be a consolation for the Argentinean, with this his third strike in four home league games in the capital.
“Of course, Chelsea are a very good team and that is demonstrated by their position in the league,” he said. “I think they are the best team in the league, but we started the match well.
“Personally, of course I am happy to have scored a goal, because I always want to score to help my team, but I am even happier if we win the game.
“We need to work hard in the week and do better in the next match, because that is the only way we can respond to this result. That’s the reality for us.”
