West Ham captain Kurt Zouma candidly addressed his team’s challenges following their 1-0 loss to Freiburg.
The defeat puts West Ham in a difficult position for the Europa League quarter-finals, with Michael Gregoritsch’s late goal securing a crucial first-leg win for the hosts.
Despite the loss, Zouma acknowledged the need for improvement, as the Hammers struggled to assert dominance, matching Freiburg with four shots on target and holding just 41% possession.
Having previously defeated Freiburg in both home and away matches during the group stage, West Ham remains hopeful of a comeback in the last-16 second leg at the London Stadium. However, Zouma emphasized the necessity for significant improvement in their performance.
The French defender, 29, told TNT Sports: “It was a tough game today, we didn’t play well throughout the whole game. We didn’t have many chances.
“There is another game next week and hopefully we can play better.
“There are many things [which could be to blame], we didn’t start the game the right way, maybe physically but no reason.
“There are days like this in football.”
Despite a below-par performance, West Ham felt they should have been awarded a penalty in stoppage time when the ball appeared to strike the arm of Noah Weisshaupt in an unnatural position.
The referee’s decision not to award the penalty, despite a lengthy VAR check, was controversial. However, Zouma insisted that the late drama should not be used as an excuse for the defeat.
He added: “I don’t know [if it was the right decision]. The decision took a bit of time and the referee took a lot of time. It is what it is.
“The game is over. I don’t want to go back to it now.”