West Ham’s Christmas crackers

Dimitri Payet vs Middlesbrough (October 1)

West Ham have been disappointing for much of this season, and Payet himself hasn’t always carried the same attacking threat as he did for much of last season.

However, his solo goal against Middlesbrough was of the highest quality.

The Hammers were 1-0 down to Aitor Karanka’s men and looked set to lose their sixth game in seven matches, but Payet set about changing that.

The French international picked the ball up down the right, and got the better of Antonio Barragan before advancing towards goal.

And, after getting past Marten de Roon with relative ease, Payet was bearing down on goal, before jinxing through the Boro defence with a few stepovers to open up a shooting opportunity, where he then fired past Victor Valdes.