West Ham United’s 2024/25 Premier League campaign got off to a disappointing start as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa. The newly-appointed Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui was left frustrated by his side’s performance, calling on them to “wake up and improve” after the loss.
The match began in the worst possible way for the home side, with Aston Villa debutant Amadou Onana heading the visitors into the lead just four minutes into the game. “We had the expectation to give our fans a happy day, so we are now very unhappy that we have lost at home,” Lopetegui lamented.
West Ham did manage to rally, with Lucas Paquetá equalizing from the penalty spot before the break. However, Villa substitute Jhon Durán struck late on to secure all three points for the visitors, leaving Lopetegui disappointed despite his side’s efforts.
“We have made mistakes against a very good Champions League team, but we still had our moments too,” the Hammers boss said. “At 1-1, we looked like we could get the next goal and we had our opportunities. We were aggressive with our high press and, even in the last few minutes, had another two good chances but we didn’t score and so we suffered this loss.”
Only two of West Ham’s new signings, Guido Rodriguez and Maximilian Kilman, started the game, with Lopetegui opting to introduce Niclas Füllkrug, Crysencio Summerville and Jean-Clair Todibo from the bench in an attempt to integrate the club’s recent acquisitions.
“My players have all arrived here at different times and we now have to help them to adapt,” the Spaniard explained. “Unfortunately, they cannot all play for 90 minutes right now, but when they do come onto the pitch they have their chance to show they can be competitive and make us a better team.”
With the disappointment of the opening-day defeat still fresh, Lopetegui must now shift his focus to West Ham’s next challenge – a derby clash away at Crystal Palace on Saturday. “For sure, we can do better than we did, and we have to wake-up and improve,” he said. “This was only our first step out of the 38 that we must make this season, and our focus now has to be on our next challenge.
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