1. The Jewel sparkles in London again!
Manuel Lanzini loves scoring in London derbies, and against Crystal Palace in particular.
Fourteen of Lanzini’s 25 Premier League goals for West Ham United have come against teams from the capital, including six in ten appearances against the Eagles.
Two of those six helped the Hammers to Saturday’s 3-2 win at Selhurst Park – the first a sumptuous effort that rocketed into the roof off the net and the second an unerring penalty.
After scoring just twice in the previous three seasons, the No10 has now found the net five times this term, including four in 14 Premier League games.
The 28-year-old is back to his best, and the only negative is we don’t play another London derby until we travel to Tottenham Hotspur on 19 March. That said, we all know what happens when Manuel Lanzini plays there…!
2. Michail’s Mortal Kombat move finishes Crystal Palace
Michail Antonio’s resurgence continued with a second goal in three Premier League matches, in addition to the assist he provided for Saïd Benrahma in the win at Watford.
The No9 now has eight Premier League goals and five assists to his name in 19 appearances this season.
Only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (25) has had more direct goal involvements than Antonio in 2021/22.
And the centre-forward celebrated his latest strike in style with a tribute to Raiden, the star of the video game Mortal Kombat, by flying across the Selhurst Park pitch.
Raiden’s character based on the Japanese deity Raijin, depicted as the god of thunder who possesses control over lightning.
And, after a dry patch, Antonio is most certainly causing a storm in opposition penalty areas.
3. Saïd signs off in style
Saïd Benrahma is off to represent his country, Algeria, in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations – and the Desert Foxes are most certainly getting a player at the top of his form.
The attacking midfielder has been outstanding in West Ham United’s last three matches, scoring against Southampton and Watford before providing a superb assist for Michail Antonio’s opening goal in Saturday’s win at Crystal Palace.
The No22 is now up to five goals and four assists in the Premier League this season, in addition to the three goals he netted in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
Algeria kick-off their AFCON campaign against Sierra Leone on 11 January, before facing Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast in their other Group E fixtures. The tournament concludes in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, on 6 February.
4. Dec delivers on record-breaking day
Declan Rice produced another impressive performance on the occasion of his 150th Premier League appearance for West Ham United.
Twelve days shy of his 23rd birthday, the England international became the youngest player to reach that milestone for the Club, surpassing Mark Noble’s record, and the 14th youngest player to reach 150 games in Premier League history overall.
The captain marked his landmark day with another all-action display, providing the assist for Manuel Lanzini’s wonder-goal to put the Hammers 2-0 up in the first half.
Rice also completed a team-high 89.1% of his passes, made three tackles, three interceptions, two clearances and blocked a shot, showing the all-round value every West Ham supporter knows he brings in every game he plays.