Lopetegui: Manchester City is one of the best teams in football history; to beat them, you can’t just focus on stopping Haaland

In the third round of the Premier League, West Ham faces Manchester City at home. At the pre-match press conference, West Ham’s manager Lopetegui stated that Manchester City is one of the strongest teams in football history. To get something out of the match against Manchester City, it’s not enough to just keep an eye on Haaland; all their players are excellent.

Due to playing in the midweek League Cup, Lopetegui said that West Ham is at a physical disadvantage, “Our players need to recover, while Manchester City has had a week of rest. But facing Manchester City, we have sufficient motivation; we must meet our opponents with the best mentality.”

Lopetegui indicated that defeating a team like Manchester City is West Ham’s highest goal, “Everyone knows that Manchester City is one of the best teams in football history. We are well aware of their strength, but we want to defeat such an incredible team; this is our goal.”

However, Lopetegui admitted that beating Manchester City won’t be easy, “The key to this match isn’t just about stopping Haaland, but about preventing their entire team. Of course, Haaland is outstanding; he is a natural goalscorer. I’ve faced him with other teams and know how formidable he is, but Manchester City is not just about Haaland; they have other excellent players. We must give 100% concentration and strive to overcome difficulties.”

Regarding Bowen’s inclusion in the England national team squad, Lopetegui expressed that Bowen’s performance deserves his call-up to the England team. When discussing West Ham’s goals, Lopetegui refused to talk about rankings, “We won’t know who qualifies for European competition until next June. Our immediate task is to perform well in the next game. We must achieve our ultimate goal through one game after another.”