17 March 2023

Manuel Lanzini wants West Ham to carry European form into the Premier League

17 March 2023

Manuel Lanzini knows West Ham need to replicate their European form in the Premier League.

The Hammers have endured a tough campaign domestically and head into the international break embroiled in the relegation battle.

That is in stark contrast to their run in the Europa Conference League, where they made it a perfect 10 wins out of 10 against AEK Larnaca on Thursday night to earn a quarter-final tie against Belgian side Gent.

“When you win you get more confidence,” said Argentinian midfielder Lanzini.

“It’s good for the group and we hope we’ll be able to get more wins in the Premier League. That’s something we’ll continue to work on.

“We have a team to be (higher) up. We didn’t expect it to be like this but it is part of football. We need to sort that. That is it.”

Jarrod Bowen scored twice in between goals from Gianluca Scamacca and teenage substitute Divin Mubama as West Ham beat the Cypriot side 4-0 on the night, and 6-0 on aggregate.

It was a statement goal from Italian striker Scamacca after manager David Moyes suggested his work-rate needed to improve after a disappointing first season in England.

“I am happy for him and he is a great player and a great person, and he works very hard,” added Lanzini.

“This is good for him because of his confidence and I hope he continue to score goals.

“Every player is different. I think when Gianluca started he did very well. He scored a lot of goals in the Conference League and the Premier league.

“Then he had an injury, but every player is different. I hope he continues to work hard and score goals for his confidence, as for us it is good.”

Lanzini, 30, will be out of contract at the end of the season and he revealed talks are yet to take place over a new one.

“No, nobody talks with me, but we will see what happens in the summer,” he said.

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