The ????/?? ???? ?? ??? ?????? could only go to one man...
— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 6, 2021
? @manulanzini
An unforgettable game and an unforgettable goal. Well deserved from our ?
It is a moment that will be talked about by West Ham United supporters for generations to come.
3-0 down at Tottenham Hotspur with eight minutes left to play, West Ham looked dead and buried. But Fabián Balbuena’s header and a Davinson Sánchez own goal gave the visitors hope.
It was hope that Manuel Lanzini cashed in on with a quite magnificent leveller in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Aaron Cresswell’s wide free-kick was headed out to Lanzini, who paid no attention to Harry Winks closing in, fading an unstoppable first time 25-yard shot beyond Hugo Lloris’ reach and into the top corner. What a moment.
It was a moment that landed the No10 the Goal of the Season at last week’s Player Awards brought to you by Betway, and it was just as special for him as it was for the Claret & Blue Army everywhere.
“I didn’t think anything – I just shot – and man it was so good,” he explained.
It will be remembered as a fine individual strike, but Lanzini was quick to point out the role Angelo Ogbonna played in disrupting Harry Winks’ attempts to block his path to goal.
“Angelo did a good job because he gave me the time to shoot and put the ball there,” he said. “Maybe Winks could block without that.”
The Tottenham man could not get there, with an unforgettable result. Lanzini rates the goal as the finest he has notched to date.
He added: “It was a difficult shot, the first goal I’ve scored like that in my career. We were 3-0 down and had nothing to lose. It’s probably the best goal I’ve ever scored.”
