Lopetegui apologises to West Ham fans after Liverpool rout

Julen Lopetegui offered his apologies to West Ham’s supporters following their 5-0 rout by Liverpool at the London Stadium.

The Spaniard has come under pressure in recent times after a difficult start to his tenure, though he relieved some of that with a four-game unbeaten streak.

However, the Hammers’ resurgence came to a shuddering halt against the Premier League leaders, who eased to a comfortable victory.

With West Ham trailing 3-0 at half-time, boos echoed around the London Stadium as the players left the field.

Things did not improve after the break for the hosts, and Lopetegui empathised with the fans’ frustration, as he vowed to bounce back.

The Hammers also failed to have a single shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since May 2021 (vs Everton).

Defeat at London Stadium. pic.twitter.com/Pa8FUL2LgV

— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 29, 2024

West Ham have now conceded more Premier League goals in 2024 than any other side, with their 79 goals conceded their most in a single calendar year since 1967 (85).

They sit 13th in the table after 19 games, and could drop a place further down if Manchester United beat Newcastle United on Monday.

“It has been a bad day for us, for sure,” Lopetegui told Sky Sports. “The fans are always right, and we understand them.

“We are trying to do our best every day, to be able to become a better team. We have to do better in these kind of matches at home.

“We have played really well in the past four matches. Today is a bad day and we have to recover.

“Today is a day to say sorry to the fans, and to go tomorrow to work hard and look forward.”

“I think that we played today against one of the best teams [in the Premier League],” he added on West Ham’s official website. “We are disappointed for our fans above all.

“I think that you can lose, but you should do a lot of things better [than we did today]. These kind of teams demand a lot from you, and we didn’t meet those demands.”