West Ham United manager David Moyes believes midfielder and captain Declan Rice “could play for any club” after his performance against Liverpool on Wednesday.
While the Hammers’ five-match unbeaten streak in all competitions came to an end at Anfield following a 1-0 defeat, courtesy of Darwin Nunez’s first half header, they came close to earning a point on Merseyside, with Jarrod Bowen having a first half penalty saved by Alisson and a late effort from Tomas Soucek requiring last-ditch defending from James Milner to deny him an equaliser.
The pick of the bunch for the Hammers was Rice, who defended well and was a big part in winning the ball back for Moyes’ side and being a key figure in starting many of West Ham’s moves going forward as they attempted to get an equalising goal, making 76 of his 80 attempted passes in the game.
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Speaking on Rice’s performance, Moyes felt that the West Ham captain was back to his best and feels that he is so good, he could play in any team in world football.
“He was the best player on the pitch by a mile tonight,” said Moyes. He’s a top player, could play for any club he’s that good.
“He was back to his best tonight. For long periods he had fantastic parts of play, how he took the ball and drove past people with the ball. I thought he was the best player on the pitch tonight.
“I think it’s him getting back to his level. Last season, he was playing that in every game just about, he was so good. Tonight, he was the standout for me, certainly as the game went on, he was the standout player.”
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