The ref was poor but Lopetegui must take responsibility for loss
Make no mistake, referee Anthony Taylor had an awful game at the London Stadium. But if Lopetegui believes that’s why West Ham lost, he’s kidding himself.
While there may have been two dubious penalties given against the Hammers, the way we allowed Arsenal wave after wave of attack meant the dam was always going to break.
Perhaps Lucas Paquetá was unfortunate to concede a penalty against Saka, where I’m not entirely sure there was contact. However, the Brazilian had spent the first 35 minutes in defensive positions, attempting so many interceptions and tackles that a penalty, yellow card, or foul was always likely to happen.
There was also no option of an out ball due to West Ham sitting so deep, which meant immense pressure on a creaking defence.
Lopetegui must take some responsibility for tactics that encouraged Arsenal to attack relentlessly without fear of a counterattack. Sure, Taylor and his team of officials seemed to get many big and small calls wrong, but it had no real impact on the result.
The officials didn’t set the tone of the game—Lopetegui’s tactics did. The truth is the Hammers didn’t deserve anything from the game, but Lopetegui could have benefited from more self-reflection instead of playing the victim.
“It was a very strange first half above all. I think that when you see the score, 2-5, you think that it has been an incredible storm, but it wasn’t like that,” Lopetegui said.
“They have scored with two penalties and one set-piece action. I think it was very, very close with Lucas Paquetá being fouled on the corner when Gabriel scored the first goal.
We have to review all our understanding about the rules. That was very, very clear in my opinion. And that was the first goal. I think it was tough for us.”
