Paqueta shows character

When the final whistle went yesterday after a famous victory at the London Stadium, the Sky Sports cameras panned in on Lucas Paqueta lying on his back by the touchline, with eyes closed and his arms raised in quiet celebration.

He was probably running the events of the last few crazy days through his head once again as he saw his dream £80 million move to Manchester City collapsing amid allegations of betting.

And here he was scoring a penalty in the fifth minute of added time to confirm a fine victory for the Irons over Chelsea.

Paqueta looked absolutely knackered. He looked mentally as well as physically exhausted, maybe suffering from cramp and exhaustion. Was the investigation preying on him?

“It is not a big weight off his shoulders. It was just a terrific performance by him,” West Ham manager David Moyes said defiantly. “He scored a penalty. He played really, really well.”

He did.

And Paqueta showed character, refusing to let the recent events of the last few days affect his game.

Unfortunately, there are problems and the roar that Paqueta released after scoring, matched by the West Ham fans, surely betrayed the stress he has been under as he faces a potential investigation by the Football Association for bets allegedly being placed on him receiving yellow cards.

“I thought 65,000 people stood to their feet and applauded him because of what he had done (on the pitch). Played as well as anybody. Showed character, never hid away,” Our Supremo concluded.