West Ham star Declan Rice hailed Manuel Lanzini’s “moment of brilliance” after the Argentine’s wondergoal capped a remarkable comeback in Sunday’s 3-3 draw with Tottenham.
The Argentine scored a stoppage time equaliser to rescue a point for a Hammers side who had been 3-0 down with less than ten minutes to play.
Fabian Balbuena’s 83rd minute header looked a mere consolation but Davinson Sanchez’s own goal set up a gripping finale, with Lanzini’s 25-yard strike flying in off the underside of the bar to spark wild celebrations.
“Honestly, I can’t tell you, it’s just one of them special moments in football where it seems like it’s meant to be,” Rice told Sky Sports.
“Obviously, it wasn’t the start we wanted, three goals down in 15 minutes and that’s not what we’ve been about recently. But it still felt like we were playing good football and creating chances.
“It didn’t feel like a 3-0 game. For some reason they dropped off us in the second half and didn’t try to kill the game off.
“It was a moment of brilliance from Manu and you can see the reaction from the boys – it’s something I can’t put into words.”
The result was a bitter blow for Spurs, who had been cruising to victory after going 3-0 up inside the opening 16 minutes thanks to Son Heung-Min’s strike and a brace from Harry Kane.
Kane hit the post midway through the second half, while substitute Gareth Bale, making his second Tottenham debut could have sealed the game with a fourth when the score was at 3-2.
“Against a team like Spurs with the quality they’ve got at 3-0 down and then Gareth Bale comes on, they’ve got Kane and Son on the pitch, you’re thinking ‘no more goals’,” Rice admitted.
“[But] once we got one and then the second came straight after, it was like ‘there’s ten minutes left, we can definitely get one’. And it was always going to be a goal like that to do it.”
“I couldn’t imagine what it’s like for Manu to score that but I was stood on the edge and as soon as it’s left his foot [I knew].”
