At St James’ Park, Julen Lopetegui reaped the rewards for persisting with a system that had initially flattered to deceive.
The West Ham United head coach wants his side to be a possession-based team that plays out from the back, with full-backs playing in advanced positions to help stretch the field. Monday’s 2-0 away win against Newcastle United, courtesy of goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, offered vindication for Lopetegui’s methods as he battles to remedy West Ham’s dreary start to the season.
His midfield trio of Soucek, Carlos Soler and Lucas Paqueta were chief tormentors for Newcastle. Lukasz Fabianski looked comfortable playing short to defenders Jean-Clair Todibo and Maximilian Kilman, and after making a number of impressive saves, the 39-year-old goalkeeper showed why he deserved to retain the No 1 jersey despite Alphonse Areola recovering from a knock.
Wan-Bissaka, the £15million ($18.8m) summer signing from Manchester United, has shown flashes of his attacking traits. His surging run in August against boyhood club Crystal Palace left a lasting impression, but his partnership with captain Jarrod Bowen down the right flank has remained a work in progress.
Yet at St James’ Park, Lopetegui was not in favour of abandoning his full-back having license to roam forward. After all, in the 53rd minute, Wan-Bissaka ran from the halfway line into the opposition box unmarked to score his first goal since February 2021. Bowen raised his arms after his assist and looked towards the bench as Wan-Bissaka wheeled away celebrating. It could be a sign of things to come.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka scores West Ham’s second goal (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
The ubiquitous Michail Antonio was back to his menacing best. A torn jersey showed how he had scrapped to gain the upper hand on defender Lloyd Kelly. Bowen, meanwhile, led by example and set the tone.
This was an attacking display supporters had been yearning to see. An embattled Lopetegui arrived in Newcastle under pressure, with his 11 league games in charge having yielded just 12 points.
But his team did not play like a side that has little faith in their head coach. West Ham played with a confidence that was lacking before the international break in the chastening loss to Nottingham Forest and the goalless draw against Everton. There was urgency, unity, desire and fight. The perils of a slow start were something Lopetegui hoped to overcome. Their sluggishness in previous games made them easy prey, with defeats to Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Forest cases in point.
But victory over Newcastle offers plenty of encouragement ahead of Saturday’s home fixture against Arsenal.
“I said in the changing room after that from the first minute, I had a good feeling about today and we showed it on the pitch,” goalscorer Soucek told The Athletic. “I’m happy with the performance and the result. It’s true (that we played without pressure); we want to be higher in the table. We said, as a team, that we have to fight more and be more confident and only we can change this. Thankfully, that came with the result.
“I noticed in the first few minutes that the Newcastle players didn’t know how to stop us. We were fortunate to play on Monday because it gave us more time to prepare, but there have been times when our form has been up and down. One game, we won by three goals (a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on October 5) and the next, we lost by three (a 4-1 loss at Tottenham), so that can’t happen again.”
Lopetegui will serve a touchline ban against Arsenal, having received a yellow card for remonstrating with fourth official Tony Harrington. It is the third time Lopetegui has been cautioned this season. He joked in his post-match press conference that it is better for the players to be on the pitch than him, but he can take comfort in assistant coach Pablo Sanz’s growing influence.
Julen Lopetegui applauds West Ham fans at full time (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
When the players returned to Rush Green after international duty, Sanz was entrusted with leading set pieces. Ahead of Emerson Palmieri’s assist for Soucek, it was Sanz on the touchline shouting instructions at the players. As for Lopetegui, he remained seated in the dugout, placing faith in his trusted No 2.
“We have struggled with set pieces and finally, we have a goal from it,” said Soucek. “We have to keep working on it because we know how important it has been for us. The first goal in most games is always the most important and it was a game-changer.
“Last week, we worked on set pieces a lot and on how Newcastle positioned their players in the box. After the game, I hugged him (Sanz) and said: ‘Finally, we scored from a corner’. He always tries to think of special ways for us to score and outthink our opposition. Finally, today, it was perfect for us.”
Monday’s win was a step in the right direction, but West Ham have been here before. Victory over Ipswich Town last month was seen as a turning point, but the subsequent humbling at Tottenham dispelled that assumption. A home win against Manchester United was also considered a much-needed confidence boost, only for Lopetegui’s men to lose the following week against Forest.
The prospect of winning back-to-back games against Newcastle and Arsenal was considered fanciful, but on the evidence of Monday’s performance, this could be a week when Lopetegui’s side truly turn the tide.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
