Marko Arnautovic said West Ham United were ‘on fire’ during the 16-minute, three-goal salvo that downed Huddersfield Town.
The Hammers went into half-time level at 1-1 at John Smith’s Stadium, but the Austrian’s superb strike just 12 seconds into the second period put his side on the way to a comprehensive 4-1 Premier League victory.
With six goals and three assists in his last seven top-flight appearances, the No7 is in the form of his West Ham career so far, but was keen not to take all the praise for himself.
We scored four goals so we are very happy because this was a massive win for us!
Marko Arnautovic
"I thought our performance was good, even in the first half, when we just couldn't complete the final pass,” said Arnautovic. “We had a lot of space in front and we just always missed the last pass.
"But in the second half, it was just on fire and even then we missed some last passes. It could have been a festival for goals but unfortunately... not unfortunately, because we scored four goals so we are very happy because this was a massive win for us!”
Arnautovic said the Hammers always felt they could turn their season around after collecting just ten points from their opening 15 games.
With 15 from their last eight top-flight matches, the Hammers are up to eleventh and targeting a strong top-half finish, rather than a nerve-jangling relegation battle.
"We know that we have a lot of quality in the squad but the first ten or 12 games were not West Ham. We try hard, we work hard and first of all we try to defend and hold a clean sheet, then in front we have to be creative and score goals. We've done that in a couple of games now.
"We are doing well, but the season is not over. We've got some very hard games to come, so we're going to keep going."
Arnautovic’s interplay with Lanzini was mesmeric at times, with the pair combining superbly for West Ham’s third and fourth goals.
The former unsurprisingly enjoys playing alongside the diminutive Argentinian, who scored his second and third of an improving season, while also adding two assists to take his tally to an impressive eight in 17 appearances.
“We always try to do our best, but Manu Lanzini told me I never give him any assists for goals, but today he got two! Now I think he needs to be quiet until the next game!
“Well done also to the defence. They always worked and did a brilliant job, and also a massive shout to our fans, who were perfect, like always. We keep going.”