Pellegrini: We were unlucky

Manuel Pellegrini said West Ham were “unlucky” in their 5-0 opening day thrashing at the hands of champions Manchester City.

A Raheem Sterling hat-trick, as well as goals from Gabriel Jesus and a Sergio Aguero penalty, condemned the Hammers to defeat at the London Stadium in Saturday’s early kick-off, but the West Ham boss felt the score line was a less than accurate one.

He said: “In key moments there were key factors; we were very unlucky. The first goal they scored was lucky. It cleared off our defender. After that, we had a couple of chances to make it 2-1.

“We knew before the game that it would be a difficult game against Manchester City. It’s difficult to talk when you lose 5-0 in a game. I don’t think the score reflected the difference between the two teams.

“I don’t think we must analyse the performance of the individual players against Manchester City. I think we must play as a team.

“Especially in the first half, I was not happy with the way we played. We concede goals in the second half where we gave too much time and space to a team with great players.”

VAR was used on half a dozen occasions during the game, most notably to award Manchester City a penalty, to allow a Sterling goal which on first glance looked offside, and to strike off a tap-in from Jesus.

But Pellegrini said he felt there would be fewer reviews as the season went on.

He said: “We used it in the same circumstances for both teams. I think it will improve and maybe we won’t be reviewing every mistake. I think it will improve the games though.”