Adrian could hardly contain his happiness after making a winning return to the West Ham United team at Manchester City.
The goalkeeper came back in after a three-match suspension to play a starring role in the Hammers’ stunning 2-1 win at previously unbeaten City.
While Adrian and his defenders threw themselves in front of everything Manuel Pellegrini’s side could chuck at them, Slaven Bilic’s team broke away to score two expertly-taken goals through Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho.
£55 million man Kevin De Bruyne pulled a goal back for the hosts, but a resilient second-half performance saw the Hammers secure a third straight away win – following successes at Arsenal and Liverpool – and rise to second in the table.
“It was fantastic to be back in the team, get three points and score two goals against Man City, who had not conceded a goal in their previous five games,” Adrian told West Ham TV. “It is an excellent performance from everybody and we need to enjoy the moment.
“What a three wins – Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City! I don’t know if anyone has won these three games in the history of the Premier League. It’s really difficult to play against those three on the road, but we put in a really good performance, we defended well and we were so effective in attack.
“We just need to keep going in the Premier League until the end.”
Adrian’s work was spread throughout the game, with the No13 making an early stop to keep out Fernandinho’s header and a double save from Sergio Aguero before half-time.
Into the second period and the Spaniard made further vital interventions to keep out a deflection off Winston Reid and palm Nicolas Otamendi’s late header over the crossbar.
“All the saves for a keeper are important because you save the team and don’t let the other team score, so for me to win the three points as a team and get the confidence is really important.”
For Adrian, returning as part of a winning cause was all the sweeter following his three-match absence for being sent-off in unfortunate circumstances in the home defeat by Leicester City a month ago.
“Never in my career have I been banned for three games so it was a bad experience for me, but I have learned from this experience and I will keep my position in the team.”
Incidentally, West Ham’s next fixture sees them go to Leicester in the Capital One Cup third round on Tuesday evening – a clash of the Barclays Premier League two leading scorers.
Before that, however, Adrian has a date with the BBC’s Match of the Day programme.
“We don’t have time to celebrate because we play on Tuesday away in the Capital One Cup. I will just enjoy travelling back to London and rest for tomorrow.
“I will watch Match of the Day I hope, of course, as long as I get home in time!”
The goalkeeper came back in after a three-match suspension to play a starring role in the Hammers’ stunning 2-1 win at previously unbeaten City.
While Adrian and his defenders threw themselves in front of everything Manuel Pellegrini’s side could chuck at them, Slaven Bilic’s team broke away to score two expertly-taken goals through Victor Moses and Diafra Sakho.
£55 million man Kevin De Bruyne pulled a goal back for the hosts, but a resilient second-half performance saw the Hammers secure a third straight away win – following successes at Arsenal and Liverpool – and rise to second in the table.
“It was fantastic to be back in the team, get three points and score two goals against Man City, who had not conceded a goal in their previous five games,” Adrian told West Ham TV. “It is an excellent performance from everybody and we need to enjoy the moment.
“What a three wins – Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City! I don’t know if anyone has won these three games in the history of the Premier League. It’s really difficult to play against those three on the road, but we put in a really good performance, we defended well and we were so effective in attack.
“We just need to keep going in the Premier League until the end.”
Adrian’s work was spread throughout the game, with the No13 making an early stop to keep out Fernandinho’s header and a double save from Sergio Aguero before half-time.
Into the second period and the Spaniard made further vital interventions to keep out a deflection off Winston Reid and palm Nicolas Otamendi’s late header over the crossbar.
“All the saves for a keeper are important because you save the team and don’t let the other team score, so for me to win the three points as a team and get the confidence is really important.”
For Adrian, returning as part of a winning cause was all the sweeter following his three-match absence for being sent-off in unfortunate circumstances in the home defeat by Leicester City a month ago.
“Never in my career have I been banned for three games so it was a bad experience for me, but I have learned from this experience and I will keep my position in the team.”
Incidentally, West Ham’s next fixture sees them go to Leicester in the Capital One Cup third round on Tuesday evening – a clash of the Barclays Premier League two leading scorers.
Before that, however, Adrian has a date with the BBC’s Match of the Day programme.
“We don’t have time to celebrate because we play on Tuesday away in the Capital One Cup. I will just enjoy travelling back to London and rest for tomorrow.
“I will watch Match of the Day I hope, of course, as long as I get home in time!”