Issa Diop was delighted to mark his 100th appearance for West Ham United with another fantastic performance in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth round win over Manchester City.
The Frenchman has been outstanding when called upon this season, helping his side keep clean sheets on each of his five appearances, and he proved unbeatable yet again as the Irons stunned Pep Guardiola’s City at London Stadium.
Whether it was making tackles or clearances or blocking shots, Diop proved to be an immovable object as West Ham shut out a City team which had scored 37 goals in its previous 14 matches in 2021/22.
I hope we’re going to keep the same mentality and going to be the same on the pitch, keep working hard and stick together to win games
Issa Diop
“It was the perfect way to celebrate!” he told West Ham TV. “Against Man City, a really good team, we know the quality of their players, so it was a really hard game, but we managed stuck together until the end and won on pens, so it was a special night.”
While Diop has yet to feature in the Premier League, he has started every game for David Moyes in the midweek cup competitions, forging a perfect partnership with Craig Dawson that has yet to concede a single goal in five games at home and abroad.
“I hope it’s going to keep going like that!” he smiled. “I just try to play my game and to do my best and that’s it.
“I think we all want to play football, so every time we are called to play, we have to give 100 per cent and give everything."
The 24-year-old was just one of a number of French-speaking heroes for the Hammers on a memorable night in east London, where France international goalkeeper Alphonse Areola produced a sensational display and Algerian forward Saïd Benrahma scored the winning spot-kick as West Ham prevailed 5-3 in a nail-biting shootout.
“Alphonse was fantastic,” he confirmed. “I have known his qualities for a long time now and he is not a World champion for nothing. I know his quality and it showed on Wednesday night.
“We were really happy for Saïd because he scored the last one, and I’m happy for all the players.”
Diop will likely head back to the substitutes’ bench when West Ham return to Premier League action at Aston Villa on Sunday, with Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma expected to return after themselves shutting out Everton and Tottenham Hotspur on their previous two appearances.
Whether he plays or not, however, the former Toulouse player is happy being part of an upwardly mobile squad that has lost just twice in its last 17 competitive matches.
“The last two years have been really good, and I hope we’re going to keep the same mentality and going to be the same on the pitch, keep working hard and stick together to win games,” he concluded.
“Now we’re playing in Europe so we know we’re going to play every three days. This game now is behind, so we need to focus for the next one, for the game on Sunday, and that’s it.”