West Ham United continue to experience teething problems at their new home.
Chelsea’s Diego Costa celebrates
Chelsea striker Diego Costa scored for his side during their 2-1 win over West Ham on Monday night, and delivered his verdict on the Hammers’ new home, when speaking to ESPN Brasil.
Slaven Bilic’s side have struggled to acclimatise to their new surroundings, following their move from Upton Park at the start of this season, and have won just five games out of the 14 Premier League fixtures they have played at the London Stadium this term.
Their latest defeat was against Chelsea, and whilst there is no shame in that on the face of it, the result was another black mark on West Ham’s copy book this season, and was their sixth home defeat this term – three more than they suffered during the entirety of last season’s campaign.
And Costa spoke to ESPN Brasil about Monday night’s win over the Hammers, highlighting how their new stadium has made it easier for visiting teams to play against them:
Chelsea’s Diego Costa celebrates
“On their old pitch, every game was a tough game. Here, they feel it a little, because they were used to that stadium for years. To come to a field of this size, with the crowd farther away, they can’t feel that heat and don’t have that precision. So I think that for us, or any other team that comes to play here, it’s a neutral field, because they’re not used to playing here, neither are we, so it’s a head-to-head match.”
One of Bilic’s main priorities next season will be to make his side harder to beat at home, and the fans will certainly have a big part to play in that, by doing their best to emulate the noise and atmosphere that Upton Park became famous for.
Something that will be easier said than done of course.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
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