West Ham United team talk spotted outside v Crystal Palace as Julen Lopetegui speaks out
Julen Lopetegui held his team talk outside at half-time as West Ham United went on to win 2-0 against Crystal Palace on Saturday 24 August.
Guardian journalist Ed Aarons posted a photo on X (24 August) having spotted the Hammers players outside the Selhurst Park concourse during half-time, noting the rain which lashed down at the time.
Lopetegui didn’t afford his players the comfort of a half-time talk in the dressing room following a sub-par opening 45 minutes, as the Hammers went into the break level at 0-0 with Palace.
However, the unorthodox team talk resulted in the Irons pulling away to win their first match of the new season, with two Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen goals in five minutes resulting in a 2-0 victory.
Julen Lopetegui seals first West Ham win after second-half double
Whatever Lopetegui said in the open at a rain-soaked Selhurst Park clearly worked a treat for his new-look Hammers side, who stepped up their intensity and quality to give the Spaniard his maiden victory.
A London derby in one of the Premier League’s most old-school stadiums with the rain lashing down couldn’t have been a better scenario for such an old-school way of addressing his players.
However, Lopetegui will be able to take plenty of positives and even more confidence from his side’s second-half showing, with Soucek and Bowen coming to the fore and finishing clinically.
Picking an unchanged side from the Hammers’ 2-1 opening-weekend defeat, Lopetegui bringing on two new signings Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Niclas Fullkrug helped to turn the tide at Selhurst Park.
With both involved in Soucek’s opener, it’s hard to see Lopetegui not starting them against Manchester City in their next game – but in the more comfortable surroundings of the London Stadium, the half-time team talk is expected to be much more straightforward.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are on the brink of completing yet another high-profile transfer before the window shuts next week.
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