Why West Ham fans should remain positive after defeat

Cautious optimism quickly evaporated into despair for West Ham United fans on Saturday after a humbling 5-0 defeat to champions Manchester City.

While it is certainly easier to focus on the negatives of such a result rather than the positives, everyone involved with the club – from the players to the fans – needs to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Starting the campaign against Pep Guardiola’s men was not an ideal beginning for West Ham and Manuel Pellegrini – who suffered four conservative defeats at the start of the previous season.

Every team in the league has got the difficult challenge of playing against this formidable City side at some point during the season – but to share the pitch with them just a week after winning their first trophy of the campaign, made the task-at-hand that bit harder.

The first half was a well-contested affair, and the Hammers held their own as they looked to go toe-to-toe with City – nearing them for possession – while pressing well to disrupt Guardiola’s preferred rhythmic style.

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Only a Gabriel Jesus goal separated the two sides at the break, which I’m sure most West Ham fans would have been pleased with. It was, however, the second half that really let London Stadium down. The defensive shape that remained consistent throughout the first period turned into a defensive mess, and with that came the remaining four goals to embarrass the Hammers as the rest of the Premier League watched on.

With his vast experience, hopefully, Pellegrini managed to get a better understanding of the system that he should be playing as his team looks to get off the mark in their Premier League journey this season. While everyone at West Ham would love the side to be unapologetically gung-ho, in the real world balance is needed, and perhaps that is what was missing from Saturday’s defeat.

An extra body in midfield would not have gone amiss as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling continuously cut through the Hammers midfield like a knife through hot butter – which will have given the Chilean coach food-for-thought heading into next Saturday’s clash away at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Certain players – namely left-back Aaron Cresswell – have also been questioned for their sub-par performances against City, which again gives Pellegrini a chance to re-think. Does he stick with Cresswell who captained the side on the opening weekend, with a second chance perhaps being deserved as he looks to cement that position as his own; or does Arthur Masuaku come in to replace him, as he looks to build on the form that saw him earn a new five-year-contract extension?

It could be argued that these problems are better being resolved now while the season is still young, rather than later into the campaign with less time to fix things. On a side note – Premier League debuting forward Sébastien Haller played well on his own upfront, as the ball stuck to his foot like glue, while he also brought others into play on various occasions.

Next. What did the opposition think about the match on Saturday?. dark

It is not hard to see why the club saw him worthy of being their record signing. West Ham may have been the first team to succumb to Manchester City this season, but they most certainly will not be the last.

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