West Ham’s Christmas crackers

Dimitri Payet vs Manchester United (March 13)

Dimitri Payet had an unbelievable debut season in the Premier League, scoring 12 times, and that included his fair share of free-kicks.

And the one against Manchester United was arguably the best of the lot.

The French international scored many free-kicks last season, including a special one in the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers, as well as in the Premier League against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, but to produce a moment of magic at Old Trafford was something extraordinary.

Payet was all of 30 yards out when he stepped up and struck a sensational effort in off the post past the outstretched David de Gea in their FA Cup tie, giving West Ham the lead on the day.

It was absolutely brilliant – the combination of pace to beat a top keeper as well as accuracy to get it out of his reach is something only few can do, and Payet is one of those.