‘Declan Rice is the best central midfielder in England’: Fans heap praise on West Ham captain

‘Declan Rice is the best central midfielder in England and arguably the world’: Fans heap praise on West Ham captain after he caps fine display with stunning goal in 4-1 thrashing of Gent

  • West Ham secured their place in the Europa Conference League semi-finals 
  • Antonio, Rice and Paqueta were all on the scoresheet for David Moyes’s side
  • Rice ran more than half of the pitch before producing a clinical finish 
  • Fans took to social media to hail their captain and their team’s performance  

West Ham fans were full of praise of their captain Declan Rice after his statement performance in Thursday’s 4-1 victory over Gent at the London Stadium.

The Hammers booked their place in the Europa Conference League semi-finals with an emphatic display, capped off by a wonderful solo goal from the England midfielder.

He won the ball in his own half, took the return ball off Lucas Paqueta and ran a full 60 yards before evading two challenges and slotting the ball home.

The jubilant scenes in the aftermath of the goal were a measure of how the West Ham faithful feel about their star man, who is expected to leave the club in the summer. 

And they quickly took to social media after the game to make their adoration even clearer. 

Declan Rice scored a stunning solo goal as West Ham thrashed Gent on Thursday night 

‘Declan Rice is the best centre midfielder in England and arguably the world,’ wrote one. ‘No muppet on Twitter can tell me otherwise’.

‘Declan Rice’s extraordinary goal and his whole performance tonight was impeccable,’ tweeted another. ‘We are really going to miss him.’

That sentiment was echoed by one supporter who added ‘I’m not ready for Declan Rice to leave us’. 

Hammers fans were understandably delighted with their team’s result, which saw them reach a European semi-final for the second consecutive season.

‘Back to back European semi-finals,’ wrote one while another simply commented ‘outstanding’.

They will face AZ Alkmaar in the next round in May. 

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