Sunday 22 November 2015 12:04, UK
The Boleyn Ground was buzzing. The bubbles were blowing around the stadium in celebration of Manuel Lanzini's superbly-composed opener.
Then James McCarthy went sliding in from behind on Dimitri Payet. And the bubbles were burst. While Payet tried to carry on, he eventually hobbled off early in the second half and it was confirmed afterwards that he will be out of action for three months.
His manager, Slaven Bilic, said he did not see the tackle, but was unhappy with the injury and had been told that McCarthy should have been shown red, rather than yellow.
Bilic's displeasure at the injury is unsurprising. Payet has arguably been the signing of the season in the Premier League after joining for £10.7m from Marseille. He has been involved in 35 per cent of West Ham's goals, leads their scoring with five in the league and has completed more dribbles than any of his team-mates.
He has created 47 chances, more than Aaron Cresswell (16), Mark Noble (11), Cheikhou Kouyate (10) and Manuel Lanzini (9) combined, and more than anyone in the league aside from Mesut Ozil.
The 28-year-old has made such an impact that in October he was nominated for the PFA Fans' Player of the Month award, missing out only to Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez.
"His injury is a massive blow," former West Ham defender Tony Gale told Sky Sports. "I've been so impressed with him. He is one of these players that West Ham have not had for a while that they can relate to.
"When he first came you could see he wasn't quite fit but he still scored goals and got assists. As he got fitter he got more and more involved, was getting more and more of the ball and he was just getting to his peak, and now he is injured."
Payet's injury presents Bilic with a sizeable problem, particularly as his replacement against Everton, Enner Valencia, was also injured in the same game.
While Diafra Sakho is set to return for the Super Sunday clash with Tottenham and Alex Song could also be back soon, Bilic will still have plenty of thinking to do.
When Sakho has been fit, Payet was playing off him in a hard-working and creative No 10 role, helping to link up play from back to front. "He has helped West Ham become an expansive attacking team," wrote Jamie Redknapp in the Daily Mail.
"He's always involved in the game," added Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. "It's not just the actual skill and the goals. He actually looks like he works hard and he's playing almost street football."
Without Payet's work-rate and creativity, does Bilic now go with Sakho and Andy Carroll up front together? Or does he stick with Carroll as the lone striker with Sakho on the right? Against Everton, Carroll often looked isolated up front on his own, with nobody in a claret shirt sometimes in sight when the ball was booted forwards to him.
Gale thinks Payet's absence will result in a change of style for the Hammers. "By playing Carroll the style slightly changes, sometimes it's through no fault of his own, but they have to get into the last third before they get the crosses in to play to his strengths."
Payet's natural replacement appears to be Lanzini, a player who Bilic has said reminds him of Real Madrid's Luka Modric. "Luka is my favourite player. He is my prototype of a great midfielder. Lanzini has the same kind of qualities. He makes our other players better. He always wants the ball. He always makes himself available. If the players are in trouble, he comes and gets it," Bilic told the Evening Standard.
If Lanzini is to step into Payet's shoes that too might require a change of style. Lanzini has largely picked the ball up in deeper and wider positions than Payet, but could be moved into a move central role if Sakho does play on the right.
Another option, although an unlikely one, could be Michail Antonio, who has played just 30 minutes in the Premier League after signing from Nottingham Forest in the summer.
"He hasn't had a chance yet," said Gale. "He needs to have a chance to see if he can do it because you will never know unless he gets in the team. He played some great stuff with Forest, has got pace, so hopefully he gets a chance and we can judge either way whether he has what it takes to do it regularly."
The losses of Payet and Valencia come at a tricky time with fixtures coming thick and fast in the festive period, but it could be worse for West Ham. Having already played, and beaten, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, they face four teams in the bottom half of the table before the end of the year.
And there was some positive news this week as it was revealed that Payet will not need to undergo surgery on his injured ankle. But Bilic still needs to find a solution in his absence to ensure the Hammers' bubble has not burst by the time he returns.
