West Ham manager David Moyes has defended his decision to rest a number of important players against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Hammers were beaten 1-0 by the reigning European champions after Christian Pulisic’s 90th-minute goal.
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Declan Rice, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen were all dropped to the bench for the match, with Bowen and Rice coming on in the second half.
The Irons face Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final and it was clear from Moyes’ starting XI against Chelsea that the Scot is now prioritising that competition.
Craig Dawson started at Stamford Bridge as the only senior central defender and was sent off after conceding a penalty that Jorginho subsequently missed, meaning he will miss next week’s league game against Arsenal.
With West Ham focussed on Europa League and Wolves a bit hit and miss, if season had just a couple of extra games to go, Newcastle would have had a shot at Europe.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) April 24, 2022
Moyes told BBC Sport: “I think for what we had done today, to make it difficult, which we did for most of the game, we didn’t quite have enough.
“I think Daws (Craig Dawson) should have met the ball and not given the ref a decision. If you are going to wrestle with players you give refs a decision to make. He had played very well before that.
“I thought it was our day to get something. A point would have been important for us. Coming here is never easy. We were very close.
“We hung in the game. We didn’t have loads of chances. It is the first time we have chosen to change some of our stronger players.”
Moyes emphasised that it was “important” to rest players ahead of their huge clash against Frankfurt.
“With the game midweek I felt it was important,” the West Ham manager continued. “We have been in good shape and spirits all year. We shouldn’t be downbeat by today.
“When…
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