West Ham suffered a major dent to their top-four hopes on Saturday night when the Hammers could only manage a 1-1 draw away at Brighton & Hove Albion.
After a goalless opening 80 minutes, Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for the hosts before substitute Said Benrahma earned a point late on.
The point keeps the Irons in sixth position, five points adrift of the UEFA Champions League qualification places and three points clear of Tottenham in seventh.
Much like the campaign as a whole, Tomas Soucek caught the eye with another impressive display at the Amex and Sky Sports pundit and Irons legend James Collins was full of praise for the Czech star.
For me, he’s got to be up there with one of the signings of the season in the whole Premier League. I still speak to a lot of the West Ham lads and he’s good to have around the place with what he brings to the dressing room, the way he lifts the other lads. He’s got everything, he’s a goalscorer and he covers more ground than anyone in that West Ham team and is another one who is a massive miss if he’s not available.
Collins went on to hail the 26-year-old as ‘invaluable’ whilst co-commentator Alan Smith hailed Soucek as a ‘revelation’ since arriving in east London.
This season the 33-cap central midfielder has continued to impress despite being relatively inexperienced in the Premier League – earning an average Sofascore rating of 7.13 from 36 league appearances.
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In normal circumstances an away draw at Brighton wouldn’t be deemed the worst results in the world.
However, with European places on the line, David Moyes must rally his troops – Soucek included – to ensure there is some form of continental competition at the London Stadium next season.
Credit must go to the Czech star, who was a driving force in the heart of the Hammers midfield alongside Declan Rice once again.
Soucek won 11 or 16 duels on the night and made two interceptions whilst completing 92 per cent of all passes (Sofascore).
