Declan Rice has stated it’s ‘very frustrating’ West Ham were beaten by Leeds on Sunday and how they have missed a ‘big chance’ to close the gap on Chelsea in the Premier League table, as he told BBC Sport.
Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City on Saturday afternoon and 24 hours later, West Ham had a chance to close the gap on the third-placed side to three points.
But Leeds turned up to spoil the party at the London Stadium, as a Jack Harrison hat-trick helped the injury-ravaged side secure a deserved 3-2 win.
Only last week, David Moyes and his players were walking away with their name in the hat for the next round of the FA Cup after knocking out Leeds.
But, as Marcelo Bielsa’s side have shown since their return to the Premier League, they can go from the absolutely ridiculous to the utterly brilliant in next to no time.
That’s exactly what happened yesterday, as Rice spoke honestly about his side’s missed opportunity to close the gap on their London rivals.
“Very frustrating,” said Rice. “We have got this far and doing really well. We are still in the top four at the minute.
“This was a big chance to close the gap on Chelsea, but that is football. It is about how you bounce back.
“We always take it one game at a time. We knew today was a massive chance, it is a chance missed.
“It will be tough but one we are ready for and it is always an unbelievable chance to play at Old Trafford and try and get a result there.”
West Ham are currently sitting fourth in the Premier League table, but they are clinging on to that final Champions League spot.
Arsenal are two points behind, but they have two games in hand on the Hammers, whilst Tottenham have four games in hand and are four points behind.
Some would say that they prefer to have the points on the board, but it would be a surprise if either north London duo aren’t able to overtake West Ham when they play their games in hand.
Whilst West Ham will be kicking themselves at those dropped points yesterday, they now travel to Old Trafford next Saturday.
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