Alan Shearer lauds Declan Rice after West Ham win against Spurs

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Alan Shearer has suggested to Match of the Day 2 that Declan Rice’s second-half clearance in West Ham United’s win over Spurs on Sunday was out of this world.

The Hammers picked up another hugely impressive victory at the London Stadium. Goals from Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard put the Hammers 2-0 up.

The visitors did threaten to produce a comeback of their own four months after West Ham stunned Jose Mourinho’s men. Lucas Moura got a goal back shortly after the hour-mark.

And West Ham fans must have feared that the equaliser was imminent when Harry Kane was played down the right flank with 11 minutes remaining. Remarkably, both Dele Alli and Son Heung-min seemed to be beyond the last line of defence.

However, as the ball was fired across the six-yard line, Rice somehow managed to get to the ball first. And just as impressively, the England international managed to get the ball away from immediate danger.

And following the game, Shearer suggested that it was an outrageous moment of brilliance from the £60,000-a-week midfielder.

“This is out of this world,” he told Match of the Day 2. “This is as good as a goal, this is. Look at him, he’s aware, he’s trying to fill in there at right-back. He then sniffs out the problem in the middle. Look at his determination to get in there. That is just unbelievable. What a clearance this is.”

With West Ham now in the top four, there is every chance that the two results against Tottenham could be looked back upon as pivotal at the end of the campaign.

David Moyes’s men have won nine of the 12 games they have played in all competitions in 2021. They now sit fourth, and have taken more points in their last six games than the two sides above them.