Julen Lopetegui questioned after what he did in West Ham United loss v Nottingham Forest
David Phillips has slammed Julen Lopetegui’s decision to drop Michail Antonio to the bench in the game between West Ham and Nottingham Forest.
The City Ground hosted the Hammers on 2 November in the Premier League as the home side secured the three points with a 3-0 victory, with goals from Chris Wood, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina.
The Irons struggled to pose a threat in the first half, and speaking on beIN SPORTS [2 November], Phillips felt Jarrod Bowen should’ve played out wide with the Jamaican playing as the number nine from the start.
“I’m not being disrespectful, but I don’t know why Antonio isn’t playing upfront, with Bowen or [Crysencio] Summerville off him,” Phillips said.
“Bowen is better when playing wider and coming in on his left foot.”
West Ham have to rely on Michail Antonio
Lopetegui decided to play with a back five and had Jean-Clair Todibo play alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos and Max Kilman.
But Forest were able to get past the Hammers’ backline with ease for their first goal as Chris Wood continued his fine goalscoring run.
Edson Alvarez was sent off just before the break, and the Irons went into the interval a man and goal down.
The Spanish manager realised that he needed to make changes and eventually brought Antonio, along with Carlos Soler, on before the start of the second half.
With Niclas Fullkrug out with an injury, Lopetegui doesn’t have a lot of options up front, and while the Jamaica international isn’t the player he once was, it’s sensible to have the forward in the team for the time being.
The 34-year-old doesn’t have the best of records this season, with just one goal in the league, but the striker’s inclusion in the team provides much-needed balance that the team lacks.
With the defeat, Lopetegui will undoubtedly be under pressure, and it remains to be seen whether the Spaniard will remain in the dugout for the Everton fixture on 9 November.
In other West Ham news, Michael Dawson slammed West Ham as Alvarez was shown a red card.
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