Related items

• Howe bemoans 'strange decisions' from Newcastle in West Ham defeat

  Eddie Howe bemoaned some "strange decisions" and individual errors as Newcastle United lost 2-0 against West Ham at St James' Park.

  Newcastle's three-match winning run in all competitions was halted as goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka earned West Ham victory in Monday's Premier League clash.

  Soucek's 10th-minute opener came via a free header from a corner, while Wan-Bissaka had space inside the box to get a shot away for his goal early in the second half.

  At the other end, Alexander Isak failed to find the target from any of his six shots, including one Opta-defined big opportunity at 1-0 down.

  Reflecting on the defeat, Howe told Sky Sports: "It was a mixed night for us. In the first 60 minutes, although we were 2-0 down, we played some good football. 

  "But I was disappointed by the two goals we conceded and the last half-hour was really disappointing. We got our organisation wrong and made a couple of individual errors. 

  "If you leave a player with Tomas Soucek's aerial ability unmarked, you are going to pay the price. It's something we have to learn from.

  "I was always confident we were in the game and there was a very good chance we could come back. But we missed some gilt-edged chances in the first half. 

  "I didn't feel we really got going in the second half. We made some strange decisions. I didn't like the end part of the game."

  Newcastle have now lost two of their past three Premier League home games, as many losses as in their previous 20 outings at St James' Park.

  The Magpies tasted defeat against West Ham in the Premier League for only the second time in 11 outings and dropped one place to 10th in the table, four points adrift of the top four.

  "It's a really difficult one to take," Newcastle defender Lewis Hall told BBC Sport. "It was a massive game for us. We'd have been two points off second if we won.

  "It was a frustrating game for us. We had a lot of the ball. When you are on top, you have to find a way to put the ball in the net, which we didn't do today."

  Newcastle have failed to find the net in three of their past six league games and have just 13 goals for the season – only Everton, Crystal Palace (both 10) and Southampton (nine) have fewer.

  "We know we can score goals," Hall added. "This season, we've defended better than we've attacked. But last season, we attacked better than we defended.

  "It's about doing both. My message to the fans is to stick with us. Everyone works so hard throughout the week."

• Bowen: Victory at Newcastle 'a really big turning point' for West Ham

  Jarrod Bowen praised the manner of West Ham's victory at Newcastle United and believes it will act as "a really big turning point" in his side's campaign.

  West Ham won 2-0 at St James' Park in Monday's Premier League contest thanks to goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

  The victory is just the Hammers' fourth in 12 league matches under Julen Lopetegui, who has seen his job as head coach called into question early in his tenure.

  Bowen, who assisted Wan-Bissaka's goal, believes things are now starting to turn for his side after a slow start to the campaign.

  Asked by Sky Sports if it could be a big win for Lopetegui, Bowen replied: "I think it is for everyone associated with the club. We've been disappointed with our start. 

  "We have to take responsibility and do our work. We haven't done that to a high enough ability this year. It was a real big moment and this is a really big turning point in our season.

  "[Lopetegui] has come in with different ideas and playing from the back but also mixing it up as well.

  "That's up to us to adapt too, and he has come in with fresh good ideas, especially for us attacking players. We are getting there."

  Bowen overtook Paolo Di Canio with his 79th Premier League goal involvement for West Ham and is now behind only Michail Antonio (101) and Mark Noble (82).

  Wan-Bissaka's strike early in the second half added to Soucek's 10th-minute opener, with that his fourth Premier League goal against Newcastle – against no team does he have a better record.

  West Ham remain 14th in the league but are now just three points off the top-half places, with a home match against Arsenal next up on Saturday.

  Lopetegui, who replaced David Moyes ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, was pleased with the win but believes there is more to come from his side.

  "We are happy. I think that we played well," he told Sky Sports. "We played with one identity and we were able to overcome a very good team. 

  "They started well and it is always good to have more confidence. They had two chances and I think in the second half we did well and deserved to win.

  "I am happy for the players, for the team and for the fans. They will have to drive a lot of miles so we are happy for them. We look forward to the next challenge. We are happy but we have a lot of work to do.

  "We have to build as a team if we are to work and know what we want to do. I think about their play. That is the thing that we try to do. 

  "We have a lot of matches that we need to do and I believe in the future this team is going to be able to show the style as a team. 

  "The players believe and they are able to put in the focus every day. Each match is one incredible challenge in the Premier League."

• Fonseca urges focus as Milan face bottom-placed Bratislava

  Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has urged his players not to underestimate the challenge posed by Slovan Bratislava in Tuesday's Champions League match, even though the Slovakian side are bottom of the standings after losing four straight games.

  Slovan Bratislava have yet to earn a point and have a minus-13 goal difference, while Milan are 20th with six points and within the play-off section.

  "Am I at risk of underestimating tomorrow’s match? I expect that won’t happen. Today we talked about the importance of winning tomorrow. We mustn’t look at their history," Fonseca told a press conference on Monday.

  "We must think that tomorrow we are playing at their home. It will be important to have the right attitude."

  Fonseca added that his side often perform better against teams that on paper appear stronger than them, such as their 3-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the previous Champions League matchweek.

  "What I know is that against the big teams we have done well and that [we have] done less well against the small teams," Fonseca said.

  "We work to be a team with the attitude and ambitions shown against the big teams. We work to always be the same team.

  "The Champions League is the Champions League. Everyone likes to be in these games, the motivation is greater. I expect them to be able to play the Champions League tomorrow with this motivation."

  Milan faced criticism following their dull 0-0 draw with Juventus at the weekend, with Fonseca admitting his side fell short of their best.

  "We are aware of what we did well and what we did less well. We did several things less well," Fonseca said.

  "The problem is that the dimension of things in Milan seems different to me: a draw with Juve for us is a defeat, for others a victory."