1. A new era begins under Lopetegui
It’s been almost two months since Julen Lopetegui was announced as West Ham United’s new Head Coach, but in Kitzbühel on Monday we finally got a glimpse of his side in action.
Up against 35-time Hungarian top-flight champions Ferencváros, the Hammers kicked off their enticing pre-season schedule with a 2-2 draw at Sportstadion Langau, and the game was not without intrigue.
Coming at the end of a week of hard work and double training sessions at altitude in the Austrian Alps, the Irons spent valuable time on the pitch, building fitness ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.
Spaniard Lopetegui played his trusted 4-3-3 formation – a balanced yet flexible structure that allows his teams to control possession, dictate the tempo of the game and create numerical advantages in key areas of the pitch.
There were clear signs of the players trying to deny their opponents space, and in the second half, in particular, the Irons had relative success in winning the ball back high up the pitch.
During the first half, goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański was beaten twice by well-taken efforts from Owusu Kwabena and Aleksandar Pešić.
However, those in Claret and Blue appeared to visibly grow in confidence and conviction as the game went on, with Danny Ings curling an unstoppable free-kick over the wall and into the top left-hand corner to halve the deficit, before Nayef Aguerd volleyed into the net with his left foot to secure a draw with virtually the final kick of the game.