West Ham: All words and no action will spell the end of Julen Lopetegui
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West Ham’s defensive disasterclass played so perfectly into Liverpool’s hands that Mohamed Salah scored once and assisted twice in a 5-0 win and still spoke of being “disappointed” at not having taken more of his chances. An evening to forget for West Ham, for their supporters, and for their manager, who said he believes Liverpool to be the best team on the planet in their current state.
![[Lucas Paqueta and Jean-Clair Todibo react as West Ham lose 5-0 to Liverpool]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/12/29/19/25/SEI234497617.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Julen Lopetegui did also admit that his team “have a lot of things to learn in these types of matches.”. When asked which specific details he was referring to, the Spaniard did not divulge, but there is one trope across Lopetegui’s first half-season in charge which must be addressed and soon.
Liverpool’s three first-half goals all came within a 14-minute period of crushing dominance from the Reds. It was not the first time this has happened. This propensity to collapse in on themselves and concede a host of goals in a short space of time has already caused the Hammers issues this season. It will continue too if Lopetegui keeps tinkering rather than selecting a steady line-up, for which both the manager and players, who are picking up needless suspensions, are at fault for.
West Ham conceded twice to Liverpool in stoppage time in their 5-1 Carabao Cup defeat in September, while Arsenal scored three goals in just nine minutes during a 5-2 victory at the London Stadium in late November. A month earlier, Tottenham scored three in eight minutes at the beginning of the second half, during which time Heung-min Son also hit the woodwork.
