"We had clear chances to score and it's difficult to say when you have lost 4-0 but I'm happy with the way the team played"
Saturday 24 November 2018 18:56, UK
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini says he was pleased with the way his side played despite their 4-0 home defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.
Strikes from David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane's double took City's tally to 17 goals in only four visits to Stratford as Pep Guardiola's side secured a routine victory to make it eight wins from eight in all competitions.
The win also strengthened City's hold on top spot in the Premier League but Pellegrini was pleased with the way his side expressed themselves against the league leaders.
"I'm happy with a lot of things but very disappointed with the result," Pellegrini told Sky Sports.
"Not because we lost 4-0 against Man City because you can lose against them, but the goals they scored are not acceptable. When you concede four goals you cannot win a game but we had as many chances as they had.
"We played in a way I think this time must continue to play in in every single game."
West Ham boss Pellegrini, facing his former club for the first time, opted for an attacking West Ham line-up having vowed to fight fire with fire ahead of kick-off.
The Hammers created plenty of chances against Guardiola's men but their attacking intent also left plenty of space for the champions to exploit.
"We conceded two easy goals not because we played with two strikers but because we lost concentration in defence," Pellegrini said. "There were mistakes in our defending and that was the reason for the result.
"We had clear chances to score and it's difficult to say when you have lost 4-0 but I'm happy with the way the team played, with the personality we played with against Man City and to create so many chances.
"But we talked before the game, if you make mistakes against these players they will score."
Meanwhile, Arnautovic handed West Ham a scare after limping off in injury time, leaving the hosts to finish the game with 10 men after Pellegrini had made all of his substitutions.
When asked about the Austria international's injury, Pellegrini added: "We'll see. Marko was playing all the game with a small problem. I will see now what will happen to him during the week."
