West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui makes Everton 'pity' admission and was blown away by one Blues player
Everton were held to a 0-0 draw against West Ham United.
Julen Lopetegui believes West Ham had enough chances to earn victory over Everton.
The Toffees battled to a 0-0 draw at the London Stadium in what was a game of two halves. Everton were better in the opening period, although they struggled to create many gilt-edged opportunities. West Ham improved after the interval as Sean Dyche’s visitors tired, with Crysencio Summerville hitting the post before Blues goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made another superb save at the death when thwarting Danny Ings’ deflected shot.
The stalemate means that Lopetegui remains under pressure from sections of Hammers supporters. They sit 14th in the Premier League table, two points and two positions above Everton. Giving his assessment, West Ham boss Lopetegui said: “Our aim was to win the match and we deserved to win the match - we had enough chances to do so. Pickford was their best player in my opinion. He did three or four saves, very good saves, and we also hit the post.
“But I think that despite this, I was not happy with the first half because we can't [give a] gift to the opponent for 45 minutes. Okay, we defended well but it was not enough. That's why I was not happy with the first half. Not because they deserved to win or they had a chance. No, because I think that we didn't show the energy and the character that we needed.
“Okay, it's true that we don't have [some of our players] right now. Four players, important players, were out - Mo [Kudus], Edson [Álvarez], [Niclas] Füllkrug and Alphonse [Areola] was not on the bench because he had problems.
But despite this, I think that the team showed in the second half that there is an opportunity for the other players too and that they took advantage of this opportunity. It was a pity that we didn't score the goal because we would have liked a fantastic three points for us. But okay, it's one point. We are looking forward to the next challenge.
“We know that with three or four points more we are looking at our position in another way. We have to achieve this consistency and to be able to improve and to look forward with a positive mind.”