Julen Lopetegui offers apology to West Ham supporters after 5-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool

Julen Lopetegui said he is “so sorry” to West Ham’s travelling supporters after their 5-1 defeat at Liverpool.

The Hammers were thrashed at Anfield as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup at the third round stage despite leading 1-0 early on in the game.

Lopetegui’s side have made an underwhelming start to the season, in which they have only won two games in all competitions.

“Today, there are two parts”, Lopetegui explained. “We did very well until 70 minutes. After the red card [for Edson Alvarez], it was another kind of match. We lost 5-1, it’s true, but we had good things. We have to keep the good things.

“Above all, for our fans, we are very disappointed. We had 6,000 fans that travelled. They are going to travel a lot of hours now, maybe tomorrow they are going to work.

“It is a pity, because we would have liked to give them one win. But that’s why we say ‘so sorry’ to them and be ready to do our best in the next match against Brentford [in the Premier League on Saturday]. It’s going to be a very important match for us.

“After the red card, it is a different match. But even with 10 players, we can be better. We have to keep the good things, to look forward to Brentford, and to be able to compete in the Premier League.”