It has not been the easiest of seasons for Lucas Paquetá, but on Monday at AFC Bournemouth he showed his value to West Ham United yet again.
The No10 has found himself left out of Julen Lopetegui’s starting XI and dealt with off-field distractions, while he has also lost his place in the Brazil team as his national side battle to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
At the Vitality Stadium, though, Paquetá was clear-headed and confident when his team needed him to be, stepping up to put his side in front from the penalty spot with just three minutes of the 90 to play.
The midfielder celebrated by pointing to the West Ham crest on his shirt as he ran to the Claret and Blue Army, before racing across the pitch to embrace Head Coach Julen Lopetegui.
It was a show of support from a player who played a huge role in the Irons’ success of recent seasons, most memorably by setting up Jarrod Bowen’s winner in the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final.
While the Hammers were ultimately denied victory by Enes Ünal’s late free-kick, Paquetá expressed his love for the Club and spoke positively about the future.
“I’m so happy to score tonight, but we want to win every game,” he told West Ham TV. “It was a difficult game here, but I think it’s a big and important point. I think we did very well. Now we have time to recover and work a lot, to improve and to play again next week.
“It was a difficult game but Bournemouth are a good team. They played very well against some of the biggest teams in the Premier League, but we did very well. The Premier League is like this and we have to still be in the same way.”
Paquetá’s sixth successful spot-kick out of six for the Club came after a long VAR review and a check at the screen by referee Chris Kavanagh, who ultimately decided Tyler Adams had handled Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross inside the Bournemouth penalty area, and after Cherries players appeared to attempt to scuff the penalty spot itself with their studs.
Through it all, the South American was unmoved and stepped up to send Kepa Arrizabalaga the wrong way from 12 yards.
“I tried to concentrate on my shot and when I had the ball I looked at the goalkeeper and I tried to score, and today I scored so I am happy,” he smiled, before talking about his exuberant celebrations, and his ambition to reclaim his regular starting place in Lopetegui’s team.
“I am like this. I love to play here with West Ham, I love the strengths [of the team] and I try to move and to improve, and with the coach we have the same way and work together.
“For me it’s very important to play. I like to play every day, every week, then I’m happy and I try to improve and now I’ll focus on the next game.”
