JUST IN : A transfer update involving Jhon Duran is released, and Julen Lopetegui calls for improvements from West Ham.A transfer update involving Jhon Duran is released, and Julen Lopetegui calls for improvements from West Ham.
- Julen Lopetegui is demanding improvement from his West Ham side after their frustrating defeat by Aston Villa.
The Spaniard’s first competitive match in charge of the Hammers ended in a 2-1 home loss on Premier League opening weekend to last season’s fourth-place finishers at the London Stadium, with Jhon Duran – a player West Ham tried to sign earlier this summer – coming off the bench to net a late winner. -
Villa debutant Amadou Onana had earlier given the visitors the lead just four minutes into the game after heading in at close range from a corner, before Lopetegui’s side were handed a reprieve before the interval when Matty Cash was penalised for a foul on Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta netted from the spot.
It was a mixed bag of a performance from a West Ham team containing two full debutants in Max Kilman and Guido Rodriguez and three more coming off the bench in Niclas Fullkrug, Jean-Clair Todibo and Crysencio Summerville, with the hosts playing their part in an absorbing second half and twice being denied a share of the spoils late on as Emiliano Martinez saved from Danny Ings and Ezri Konsa made a sensational last-ditch block to deny Soucek a last-gasp equaliser.
