West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui branded his team as ‘soft’ while Jarrod Bowen admitted they made it easy for Chelsea after succumbing to a third straight home defeat.
Two goals from Nicolas Jackson and a Cole Palmer strike secured a comfortable victory for the Blues, but Lopetegui lamented his side’s defending for all three.
The Hammers’ boss was also subjected to loud boos from the home fans following his decision to substitute Crysenio Summerville early in the second half.
‘Of course today is a bad day for all of us and we have to look forward and work hard and think about the future,’ Lopetegui said.
‘We are very, very frustrated. It was a very soft way to lose. We suffered two early goals, we can and have to do better. We had more chances and more of the ball but that is not important.
West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui branded his team ‘soft’ in a brutal takedown
The Hammers lost their third-straight game at home and have won once this season
Two goals to Nicolas Jackson and a strike from Cole Palmer helped Chelsea cruise to victory
‘We can defend much better. When you suffer the first goal it makes the rest of the match more difficult and then after the second goal it is the same.
‘This group of players are going to improve. They are to have time to give the fans the best of themselves. They deserve this. We feel their support, their ambition.’
TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole described West Ham’s performance as ‘poor from start to finish’ while captain Bowen also criticised the goals his team conceded.
‘I don’t think we were ever in the game really,’ Bowen said.
‘The goals they scored were very easy on our part. You have to be switched on at every moment. They punished us with the first goal. The second goal, it was easy to play through.
‘I thought we gave them too much respect in the end.
‘Being 3-0 down at home against your local rivals, you want to put a performance on for the fans. Now it’s about rallying together as a group.’
Chelsea’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were both in the stands to watch Enzo Maresca win his third straight away match since taking charge of the Blues.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen felt his team made it easy for Chelsea to take control
The Hammers skipper felt his side gave Chelsea far too much respect on their own turf
The Hammers now face a daunting Carabao Cup clash against Liverpool on Wednesday
‘It is always good when we win game for them, especially as they were both here,’ Maresca said.
‘They were in the changing room [after the game], they were all happy. The result and the points, they are always important. The main target is to see how we progress as a team. We are improving many things, even if we could attack and defend better. Sometimes we need to manage the game better.
‘I think we are on the right path, we are going in the right direction. But this is a long journey.
‘Because we won today, we are in a good moment, it looks like everything is fine. But not everything is fine. We could attack better, we could defend better. It’s just a matter of time.’
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