Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson heaped praise on Tottenham attacker Erik Lamela for his performance during his side’s 1-0 victory over West Ham.
The former Liverpool player shared that it was the best he’d ever seen the 26-year-old winger play and confessed that the player was one he had never really rated previously.
Thompson shared that Lamela for about an hour of Saturday’s match with the Hammers defied his expectations and showcased some skills in the first-half which he deemed quite stunning.
“But for about an hour it was the best I’ve ever seen Erik Lamela play, he was quite excellent, some of the stuff, some of the skills in the first-half were actually quite stunning,” stated Phil Thompson on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports Main Event, October 20, 17:41).
“I never really been one to rate him but for an hour in this game, I thought he was absolutely stunning.”
OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini knew the Hammers had to keep an eye on Lamela going into Saturday’s clash if they were going to get anything from the game. While Mauricio Pochettino may have caught a few by surprise by starting the 26-year-old on Saturday rather than using him from the bench, the Hammers must have been aware of his recent form. The winger had scored four goals while creating two, in the seven appearances he made before the clash with the Hammers and looked to be in red-hot form. Despite Lamela clearly being a player the Hammers should keep an eye on, the club did make it easy for him in the first-half to get the better of them. The winger was constantly afforded too much space and it wasn’t until the second-half that the Hammers kept closer tabs on him. This made them able to stop him looking like such a threat. Given the Hammers are set to meet Spurs again soon, but this time in the League Cup, then they need to have a better plan in place on how to deal with Lamela as he can be a match winner for his side.
