‘Absolutely shocking’ Lucas Paqueta blasted for what he did in West Ham embarrassment, should have been ‘off’
West Ham star Lucas Paqueta has been scathingly criticised for his role in one of Chelsea’s goals as the Irons were thrashed 5-1 by their capital rivals on Friday evening (22 August).
West Ham’s season got off to a terrible start last weekend as they were beaten 3-0 by newly-promoted Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
They looked to put things right against Chelsea at the London Stadium on Friday night, but were again taught a lesson as Enzo Maresca’s side romped to a 5-1 win despite Paqueta’s fine early strike.
Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Trevoh Chalobah all scored without reply on a great evening for the Blues as they grabbed their first three points of the new season, and it was equally dismal for Graham Potter’s men.
Paqueta’s future at West Ham has been uncertain over the last few months, despite him being cleared of spot-fixing charges [BBC], and he has now been blasted by Merson for some poor defending to allow Chelsea back into the game.
Lucas Paqueta let’s Marc Cucurella flick it on for Joao Pedro to score
Paqueta was marking Marc Cucurella as Pedro Neto swung in a Chelsea corner in the 15th minute at the London Stadium, and the diminutive Spaniard out-jumped the Hammers midfielder to flick it backwards into Joao Pedro’s path, with the striker then nodding home to equalise just nine minutes after the Irons’ opener.
Former player turned pundit Merson criticised Paqueta’s poor defending at the front post to allow Cucurella to reach the ball first, and insisted that he deserved to be substituted off after it happened while speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday (12.31pm, 23 August).
He said: “This, sorry, I worked on the front post all my career at Arsenal. If that happens to me at the front post, and that man does that and they score, I’m coming off.
“I’m off. I’m coming off. That is absolutely shocking.”
Host Simon Thomas then asked Merson if he would have been taken off by former Arsenal boss George Graham if he had done similar during his own time as a player, saying: “George Graham’s hooking you isn’t he?”
The ex-Gunners man replied: “Oh hooking you straight away. Your job, you’ve worked on it, you make sure that ball doesn’t get flicked on at the near post, one million per cent. It happened to me once in my whole career at Arsenal.”
West Ham need Lucas Paqueta to return to his previous stellar form soon
Football Insider verdict
Paqueta’s on-field talents have been overshadowed by his troubles away from the pitch in recent times, after he was charged with four counts of spot-fixing and two of obstructing an FA investigation [Sky Sports] in May 2024.
Now that he has been officially cleared and can move on with his career without worry, it seems likely that he will stay at the club despite former Irons scout Mick Brown revealing to Football Insider last month that West Ham were preparing to accept £30million offers for Paqueta amid interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 122 | 19 | 14 |
Brown told Football Insider on Wednesday (20 August) that West Ham have now decided to keep Paqueta in a surprising U-turn, and so they should have, as his goal on Friday proved his quality despite his defensive drawbacks.
Under-pressure boss Potter needs all the help he can get right now after a terrible start to the new campaign, and keeping a player of the Brazilian’s talent is a no-brainer, but he now needs to step up to become a talisman once again and return to his outstanding form from the 2023/24 season.