Rice pulled rank as the Hammers impressed once again.
Jesse Lingard has certainly settled into his new surroundings at West Ham United.
Loaned out by Manchester United in January, the attacking midfielder announced himself as a Hammer with two goals on his debut in their 3-1 victory over Aston Villa.
And while Lingard was unable to face his parent club in the FA Cup last week, the 28-year-old was back in the line-up as West Ham eased past Sheffield United to move into fifth in the Premier League table.
However, while he impressed during the 3-0 win over the struggling Blades, Lingard was left frustrated when skipper Declan Rice pulled rank on him after West Ham had won a penalty.
Lingard won the spot-kick when he was fouled by Chris Basham inside the box, and while he wanted to step up himself, Rice took the ball away from him before firing past Aaron Ramsdale.
After the game, Rice told BT Sport that he didn’t want to be ‘battered’ by Hammers boss David Moyes for not taking it.
“I don’t want to be battered by the Gaffer if I don’t take it!” 🤣
“I said ‘I’m on them mate, can I have the ball?'” 😂@_DeclanRice lets us know what went down between him and @JesseLingard over the penalty…
He didn’t want to upset David Moyes 😬
🎤 @ReshminTV pic.twitter.com/MvKcJzoaP2
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 15, 2021
What Rice told Lingard
Rice said: “I just said to Jesse, ‘Look, the gaffer, I don’t want to be battered by him and by the assistants in the changing room if I don’t take it’.
“I said I don’t want to be that guy that looks like I’m taking the ball off you, but I said, ‘I’m on them mate so obviously can I have the ball’.
“Buzzing to put it in the back of the net and, more importantly, we’ve got the three points.
West Ham finally have their penalty 👀
Jesse Lingard wasn’t overly-happy to let Declan Rice do the honours, but was the first to congratulate the West Ham star after he puts it away 🙌
All’s well that ends well ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/p0jL22Il5a
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 15, 2021
“It was a strange one because it was our 24th game tonight and we haven’t had a pen.
“It was my first time taking a penalty in the Premier League so I had to compose myself, take a deep breath and just visualise hitting the ball in the back of the net and, lucky enough that’s what I’ve done.”
Rice later filmed himself taunting Lingard as he took a bath, confirming there were no hard feelings between the pair.
“He knew he had to give me the pen…”🍿@_DeclanRice wasn’t letting @JesseLingard anywhere near West Ham’s first penalty of the season 😂 pic.twitter.com/oz17auOICV
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 15, 2021
During his post-match interview, Moyes said Rice was right to take the ball away from Lingard.
“He’s right,” said the Scot. “Because we want to be clear, we want the organisation to be clear.
“I also see it as a bit of a step up for Declan as well, that’s his first goal, he’s taken responsibility, taking that ownership and making sure he does the job.
“Next time we might try somebody different, but this game it was certainly Declan.”
Read More About: David Moyes, Declan Rice, Jesse Lingard, West Ham United