West Ham United beat Manchester United 2-1 on Sunday, and Julen Lopetegui would have been a very relieved man after the game.
Julen Lopetegui has experienced a tough start to life in charge of West Ham, and certain reports before the Man United game claimed that his job was at risk.
There is even said to be friction between Lopetegui and Tim Steidten behind the scenes right now.
The win over Man United kept the wolves at bay for another week, but there is clearly still tension simmering under the surface at the London Stadium.
After that victory, you could just how much it meant to Lopetegui, after a huge outpouring of emotion from him at the full-time whistle.
In fact, he did something else after the match that was very rare for him, and that in itself proves just how big of a deal the three points were to him.
Julen Lopetegui did something unusual after 2-1 West Ham win
The Hammers head coach will not care one little bit how his players got the win – the result was all that mattered on Sunday.
And in fairness to the West Ham players, they improved massively in the second-half, after their woeful first-half showing.
According to The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas, Lopetegui did something very unusual for him after the game.
Usually, the Spaniard is the first man to head down the tunnel – win, lose or draw.
However, it was a different matter for Lopetegui in the aftermath of Sunday’s win over Man United.
Roshane Thomas said:
“Lopetegui is usually the first person to head down the tunnel when a match is over, but this time he opted to savour the moment. Guido Rodriguez was the first player he embraced before he then celebrated with members of his backroom staff.“
It was nice to see a more human side of Julen Lopetegui after West Ham beat Manchester United, rather than the robotic one we’ve witnessed so far.
If the Spaniard is to succeed at the London Stadium, he definitely needs to strike up more of a relationship with the Hammers fans in my opoinion.
Maybe he should take inspiration from the way that Jurgen Klopp interacted with the Liverpool fans when he took over at Anfield.
Sunday’s win over Man United was a huge result, but hopefully it will only be the start of even better things to come.
Related Posts
