David Moyes reacts to Declan Rice display in West Ham win at Newcastle

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David Moyes has labelled Declan Rice excellent after West Ham beat Newcastle 4-2 in their opening game of the new Premier League season – in comments reported by Football London.

The Hammers came from behind on two occasions to take the three points from St James’ Park.

They exacted revenge for the hugely disappointing loss against the same opposition in their first game of last season.

For Rice, it threatened to be a tough afternoon dealing with Allan Saint-Maximin. But he got better as the contest went on.

He found a teammate with 49 of his 50 passes. He also made two interceptions, completed three dribbles, and won two aerial duels (Whoscored).

And following the game, Moyes insisted that he was extremely pleased with what he saw from the England international.

“Declan was excellent,” he said, as reported by Football London. “I thought we played very well in the first half, I thought they were more just a couple of defensive blips and we gave Newcastle a leg up with the second goal. We had as many opportunities as they had. 

“The second half was more of the same, we knew we were going to have to play to get back in the game and win the game and we went on and did that.”

Huge for West Ham if Declan Rice picks up where he left off after Newcastle display

Rice is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. And he was outrageously good at Euro 2020.

Remarkably, he is still only 22. So he would be forgiven for going off the boil at some stage.

But the early signs suggest he may be about to pick up where he left off.

And it would be a huge boost for West Ham if that is the case. They have been quiet this summer.

The squad that did incredibly to qualify for the Europa League now needs to negotiate that tournament on top of their Premier League fixture list.

Having Rice at his best seems to be crucial.