1. It’s good to be home!
Three months after closing the 2023/24 season at London Stadium with a 3-1 Premier League win over Luton Town, West Ham United were back on home turf on Saturday.
Much has changed since that sunny afternoon in May, with a new Head Coach, seven new senior players and new backroom staff members arriving over the summer.
Two of those summer signings were in Julen Lopetegui’s team – Maximilian Kilman and Guido Rodríguez – with three more being introduced from the substitutes bench in Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Füllkrug and Luis Guilherme.
There were also first appearances of the pre-season for Jarrod Bowen, who captained the team, Alphonese Areola and Lucas Paquetá, and plenty of the football played by Lopetegui’s team was entertaining and eye-catching.
A colourful crowd turned out to cheer their heroes onto a penalty shootout victory and, while London Stadium may not have been full, the atmosphere generated by the many families inside made for a fun-filled summer afternoon of football.
2. Bowen and Paquetá’s interplay
If West Ham United are to have a successful 2024/25 season, you suspect Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá will both have a big part to play in it.
On Saturday, the pair were influential in the first half, each assisting a goal for the other as two of the Hammers’ 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League heroes showed yet again just how important they are to this Club.
Paquetá tried again and again to open up the Celta Vigo defence with lofted through balls, and had just seen one cut out by centre-back Jailson when he found the perfect elevation to clear his fellow Brazilian and find Bowen, who timed his run and took the ball perfectly before slotting accurately under goalkeeper Iván Villar.
Bowen then returned the favour for his No10, completing a slick move that also involved Mohammed Kudus and Michail Antonio to play in Paquetá to score with an impish clipped finish over the advancing Villar.
It was delightful stuff, with an end product, and let’s hope we see more of the same in the Premier League!
3. Lively Mo
Mohammed Kudus is akin to a video game player at times – impossible to knock off the ball, with rocket-like acceleration and an ability to drift past players almost as if they are not even on the pitch.
The Ghana star boy may not have scored against Celta Vigo, but their defenders will certainly be happy they do not have to face him every week.
Time and again, Kudus left his opponent trailing in his wake, using his low centre of gravity, superb body strength and speed off the mark, as well as his tight ball control, to burst into space, draw men and create more space for others.
4. The Betway Cup is ours again!
Saturday’s game marked the eighth hosting of the Betway Cup, the annual pre-season curtain-raiser sponsored by West Ham United’s principal partner.
We have not had things our own way in the previous seven, winning just two and losing on five occasions.
Twice we held the lead against Celta Vigo at London Stadium, and twice the Spanish La Liga side levelled, sending the tie to a nail-biting penalty shootout.
Again, West Ham took an early advantage when Łukasz Fabiański saved Celta’s first spot-kick, but then relinquished it when Niclas Füllkrug saw his effort pushed away.
But Nayef Aguerd, Maximilian Kilman and Luis Guilherme all kept their nerve and when Pablo Durán skied his shot high over the crossbar, the Hammers had won and Jarrod Bowen lifted the Betway Cup jubilantly above his head!
