Manuel Pellegrini insists West Ham were unlucky to lose to Watford
"Really I think we were a bit unlucky to not at least draw. The penalty was the only action in our box in the first half, and we had three or four chances to draw the game. Unfortunately we didn't score and then they scored their second."
Sunday 23 December 2018 11:36, UK
Manuel Pellegrini says West Ham were not lucky in front of goal as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Watford in the Premier League.
Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu scored as Watford scuppered West Ham's bid to win five matches on the spin at the London Stadium.
Pellegrini has been targeting a top-six finish but it is now Watford who are suddenly threatening the European spots.
"Really I think we were a bit unlucky to not at least draw," said Pellegrini.
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"The penalty was the only action in our box in the first half, and we had three or four chances to draw the game. Unfortunately we didn't score and then they scored their second.
"We had to be faster and more accurate. In the second half they had a couple of chances but before that we had all the clear opportunities to draw."
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"One of the targets was to not lose any more points at home, but football is football," he added. "We played against a good team.
"We were not lucky today and I think we deserved a little bit more."
West Ham will look to bounce back when they take on Southampton, live on Sky Sports Premier League on Thursday.
Pellegrini hopes to have some players back from injury for the trip to St Mary's.
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"In this moment we have eight players injured," he said. "We know that December and January are key months for results at the end of the season.
"I hope we can recover some players, especially Marko Arnautovic. Maybe he'll be ready next week but one of the merits of this team is to win games with a lot of players out of the squad."
