Paul Merson has slammed West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui for his decision to leave Lucas Paqueta on the bench for Tuesday night’s game against Leicester City.
The Hammers were condemned to a seventh defeat of the season at the King Power Stadium, courtesy of goals from Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannous and Patson Daka. The result left Lopetegui’s side 14th in the Premier League table, just six points above the relegation zone.
The pressure is growing on the maligned Spaniard, who reportedly must beat Wolves on Monday night to have any chance of retaining his position in the London Stadium dugout. Not helping himself with some bizarre decision-making, Lopetegui opted to drop his team’s primary creator Paqueta to the bench against the Foxes, prompting Merson to lament the former Real Madrid head coach.
The pressure is growing on the maligned Spaniard, who reportedly must beat Wolves on Monday night to have any chance of retaining his position in the London Stadium dugout. Not helping himself with some bizarre decision-making, Lopetegui opted to drop his team’s primary creator Paqueta to the bench against the Foxes, prompting Merson to lament the former Real Madrid head coach.
Merson: Lopetegui’s Paqueta Decision was ‘Unbelievable’
Heading to the East Midlands to face a Leicester side that had scored just 16 goals in their opening 13 league matches, and conceded 27, Lopetegui opted for a defensive midfield trio consisting of Carlos Soler, Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek. Paqueta, who provides six Premier League assists last season, was relegated to the sidelines.
With the Irons trailing 2-0 in the 62nd minute, the Brazilian was introduced in place of Soucek, but it was too late. The damage had been done, provoking a tirade from Merson about the decision.
Writing in his Premier League predictions for Sportskeeda, the pundit stated:
“Speaking of unbelievable, I was baffled by how West Ham did not include Lucas Paqueta in their line-up to face Leicester. How can you do that? I don’t understand that decision. We all know Leicester won’t take the game to West Ham, they have a certain way of playing. It involves sitting back and hitting teams on the counter.
We knew West Ham would enjoy a lot of the ball, so why not include Paqueta? He keeps the ball well and makes things happen. That worked quite well against Newcastle and Lopetegui made a big mistake by leaving him out. This is what happens when you bring in managers who don’t understand how the Premier League works. They may have done great things elsewhere in Europe, but it’s not the same here.”
West Ham are said to be eyeing Massimiliano Allegri as a potential replacement for Lopetegui, if he’s dismissed after Monday’s encounter with Wolves.
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