West Ham United captain Matthew Upson hailed the influence of Manuel da Costa in victory over Stoke City.
As well as scoring the second goal, the former Genoa stopper helped the Hammers keep their first clean sheet in the league since New Year's Day.
"If you're going to criticise him in any way, you'd say experience-wise and his decision-making, he could be a bit calmer at times," said Upson, who revealed he mostly uses "eye contact" and "sign language" to communicate with a player who hardly speaks a word of English.
"But when you want somebody in a game to go and attack a ball and get physical with someone, there's not many better.
"Physically, he's one of the best players I've seen."
