West Ham salvaged a draw from their Premier League clash with Fulham but that has not stopped questions being asked of Julen Lopetegui.
It was Danny Ings to the rescue for West Ham as he scored in the last minute to earn a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Even the most ardent of West Ham fans would concede it was a point they barely deserved.
Fulham could – and probably should – have been more than 1-0 up by half-time.
The Hammers were dreadful in the first half but many West Ham fans had seen it coming.
West Ham supporters know their team is a work in progress with a new manager, new staff, new philosophy and a big overhaul of 21 players.
But Julen Lopetegui has drawn some criticism with his team selections so far.
Fulham star blown away by West Ham player
Fulham was going to be different, though. Certainly in the minds of West Ham fans who were convinced the game after the international break would be Lopetegui’s big opportunity to transition the team with his new signings.
However, when the line-up was announced fans were bewildered to see Michail Antonio up front, Konstantinos Mavropanos at the back.
There had been hopes Jean-Clair Todibo and Crysencio Summerville would get their first Premier League starts at Fulham.
One of the biggest shocks, though, was Lucas Paqueta being dropped in favour of Tomas Soucek.
Like Antonio and Mavropanos, Soucek struggled as Fulham took the lead thanks to the former’s mistake.
Antonio and Soucek were both hauled off at half-time.
Pereira lauds dropped Paqueta
In the second half, a Fulham star was blown away by a West Ham player dropped by Lopetegui.
There’s no hiding that Paqueta has not been anything like his best for the Hammers for some time now.
That stretches all the way back to the turn of the year.
Paqueta has also struggled with Brazil – but West Ham’s £51m is not alone there.
That being said, there was still shock that he was benched in favour of Soucek.
Had it been for Summerville, with Kudus moved into a central role, it would have been understandable.
But the change stood out like a sore thumb given Soucek’s awkward first half display.
West Ham boss won’t make same mistake again
Andreas Pereira went from playing with Paqueta to playing against him this week.
It’s rare a player compliments a direct opponent after a game.
But Fulham’s own Brazilian magnifico Pereira was very impressed with Paqueta.
And it suggests Lopetegui made the wrong call leaving him out at the start.
“Play too hard, on fire,” Pereira commented on Paqueta’s Instagram post after the game.
It’s highly unlikely Lopetegui will make this same mistake again.
Especially with Chelsea at home in the Premier League next weekend after a midweek cup tie at Liverpool.
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