4. Having Palace under his thumb.
Lanzini has made a habit of coring in London derbies. The former River Plate man has scored in ten different matches against Chelsea, Tottenham and Crystal Palace. The Eagles have no doubt been Lanzini’s favourite team to play against in the past.
The Argentine scored four goals in his first four games against the South London side. These include two winners at Selhurst Park, but his best moment against Palace was at the London Stadium in 2017.
In a relegation battle which was made worse by the exit of talisman Payet, Slaven Bilic‘s side was in a bad place going into their match against Palace. Fans were worried about the impact of the Frenchman’s exit would have on the side. The team, however, showed great character and togetherness in the match.
There were standout performances from across the team. Michail Antonio assisted all three of the goals. Andy Carroll scored a magnificent overhead kick. Lanzini was pulling the strings from midfield. The Argentine was under the most pressure as he had to take the responsibility of Payet’s role and did so superbly.
Lanzini’s performance was capped off perfectly in the 86th minute. On the counter-attack, Antonio played Lanzini through on goal and chipped the on-rushing keeper. Ironically. It was the same keeper that Payet had lobbed the previous season at Selhurst Park.
It was the night that made Lanzini the new Hammers talisman.