Julen Lopetegui may have saved himself at West Ham after ‘positive’ change v Manchester United
Julen Lopetegui may have figured out how to save his job as West Ham United boss after swapping to a three-at-the-back formation against Manchester United on Sunday (27 October).
The Hammers came away from the London Stadium over the weekend with a surprise win against the Red Devils which ended up seeing Erik ten Hag relieved of his duties as the Man United boss.
West Ham’s second goal did, however, come in a rather controversial manner after the club were awarded a penalty in the dying embers of the game.
Initial claims for the penalty call were waved away by the on-field referee David Coote but after VAR intervened, the decision was turned over and Matthijs de Ligt was judged to have fouled Danny Ings in the box.
Although Jarrod Bowen’s penalty ended up as the talking point of the clash, Stephen Warnock believes that Lopetegui’s “positive” tactical change at half-time is what turned the tides in the Hammers’ favour.
“He [Loptegui] made the changes at half-time and Edson Alvarez finds himself in the centre of the back three. He puts Emerson and [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka as his wing-backs and this changes the way West Ham can press and how they can get out from Manchester United’s press,” he said on Match of the Day 2 (27 October).
“It was a really positive change from Lopetegui to alter the game. In the first half, they [Man Utd] created lots of opportunities. In the second half, when you’ve got five men behind the ball, it became one of them situations when Bruno Fernandes was taking pot-shots from outside the box.”
Julen Lopetegui may have found a way to save his West Ham job
There’s no denying that West Ham’s performances in the league have left a lot to be desired this season.
The club are 13th in the Premier League and despite being ahead of Man United at the moment, the fact they’re only five points clear of the drop zone should be quite a concern for fans.
When the change was made against Ten Hag’s men, the Hammers looked far more solid and seemed to be able to retain possession of the ball more often than they would in the Spaniard’s 4-1-4-1 formation he has employed this term.
While playing with five at the back might not be the most exciting way to play, if it helps them edge out results and come away with the odd win here and there, this could be how Lopetegui saves his job after the recent scrutiny he’s been under.
There’s plenty of time left in the season for things to change of course but at the moment, playing with five defenders could be the way West Ham cement their place in the top flight and could potentially allow them to compete for the European places as the season goes on.
In other West Ham news, Troy Deeney has shared his verdict on the performance of Edson Alvarez v Manchester United.
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