'Only the beginning' – Pochettino confident Chelsea will improve after West Ham defeat

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino reacts during his side's defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium in August 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino cut a frustrated figure after the Blues' 3-1 loss at West Ham on Sunday, but says it is 'only the beginning' for his side.

The Hammers took the lead through Nayef Aguerd after seven minutes at the London Stadium, but Chelsea looked to be on their way to a win as Carney Chukwuemeka levelled later in the half and the Blues won a penalty shortly before the interval.

But Enzo Fernandez saw his spot-kick saved by Alphonse Areola and West Ham went back in front through Michail Antonio eight minutes after the restart.

Aguerd was later sent off for a second bookable offence, but Chelsea were unable to capitalise and new signing Moises Caicedo endured a nightmare debut as he gave away a penalty in added time and Lucas Paqueta converted to make it 3-1.

"It was the frustration when we miss the penalty. We were playing well and we didn't get the reward. We start the second half a little bit with this belief until we started again to play,' he said.

"We need to be more strong in this type of situation because we knew West Ham sit deep and counter-attack and set-pieces are really dangerous.

"Disappointed but this is only the beginning. We need to believe in the process. I think we are going to be stronger and for sure be really competitive."

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A 2023/24 season preview is available for Chelsea, which discusses how the Blues can recover from last campaign.

Every single club in the top four tiers of English football have also been previewed.

Having already signed Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson in attack, the Blues have been linked with a sensational swoop for Kylian Mbappe. The two-time European champions are still trying to offload Romelu Lukaku, though, with the striker thought to favour a move to Juventus.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.