Edson Álvarez admitted West Ham United allowed the opportunity to leave Old Trafford with at least a share of the spoils slip through their fingers.
While Manchester United ran out 3-0 winners in Sunday’s Premier League outing, courtesy of Rasmus Højlund’s opener and Alejandro Garnacho’s second-half double, the Hammers had their share of possession and chances throughout the contest.
Jarrod Bowen, Emerson Palmieri, Tomáš Souček and Ben Johnson all went close to finding the net for David Moyes’ team, but the Irons were caught out by the Red Devils’ pace on the counter-attack on more than one occasion.
While Álvarez could point to the positives from the effort, the midfielder was deflated to be heading back to east London with West Ham’s first loss in seven Premier League matches.
“That’s a difficult one,” he said. “I feel a bit frustrated. We showed some character to play at Old Trafford against this Manchester United team, and we showed some really good things. We created chances that we should have scored from and, in the end, we didn’t get the result.
“We need to learn from this. In situations like this, it’s about clever moments. We had the ball a lot in both halves, but we need to be more ready and sharper when it comes to the counter attacks.
“In this moment, it feels like we could have taken something from this game.”
While the manner of defeat in Manchester was deflating for Álvarez and his teammates, the Irons still hold a commendable position in the league table and have picked up impressive results throughout the season.
Wins at home to Manchester United and Chelsea, combined with victories away at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, have greatly contributed to West Ham’s push for a fourth consecutive European campaign, and Álvarez believes the Irons will continue to get better as the season progresses.
“A lot of players are new to this team, including me, and we’re still getting to know each other,” he added. “It’s a new beginning for all of us and I think we’ve had some very nice victories already this season. But there is also still a long way to go and we want to improve.
“We’re missing a couple of important players, like Lucas Paquetá, but we have a squad filled with quality. We need to learn from this game and move on.”
