West Ham United manager David Moyes was full of praise for Lucas Paqueta's character.
The Brazilian midfielder is the subject of significant off the field rumours at present.
Not only is he a transfer target for Manchester City, but Paqueta is embroiled in a possible betting rules violation as well.
Asked by reporters about the midfielder after he scored a late penalty Moyes said: I thought 65,000 people stood to their feet and applauded him because he played as well as anybody.
They were all cheering him because of his ability, he's a really, really good player. He showed character never hid away from the ball and his performance was very good especially in the second half. I thought he did brilliantly well today. I'm only interest in how he performed today.
There was never any doubt about picking him. He's a solid and tough character so no problems.
It was just a terrific performance from him. Scored a penalty in the last minute or two. He played really, really well and he's a very good player."