The United States international went straight back into the starting XI at Selhurst Park upon his return from injury, and - on the left of a back three including Nathaniel Clyne and Joachim Andersen - was part of a dominant first-half display.

Palace went in at the interval 4-1 up, forcing West Ham to go like-for-like in shape in the second-half, with Richards helping to press high and himself making a number of fine tackles on opposition runners like Mohammed Kudus and Michail Antonio.

Richards explained his role in new Oliver Glasner's three-at-the-back system, which sees one of the three centre-backs able to push further forwards when the right opportunities arise.

"You have to be aggressive, you know?" he told Palace TV. "You kind of just have to trust that we're going to be able to defend one v one in the back, so everybody pushes up.

"So if you see Clyney going up, I kind of have to shift over with Joa, and then visa versa - so if I go, Clyney shifts over. It allows us to be a bit more aggressive and allows us to have an extra number going forward, so I think we're doing really well with the formation.

"He [Glasner] has brought a certain sense of aggressivity to the team and I think that we're all reaping the benefits of it."

On Clyne - who himself admitted he had never played centre-back before last week - Richards chuckled: "Yeah, he's doing alright, you know!

"I think he definitely did really well today and last week, so maybe he'll find a new position!"