West Ham boss David Moyes says he hopes the actions of defender Kurt Zouma don't serve to "blight" the "good things" being done on and off the pitch at the London club.
French defender Zouma attracted consternation from across the game after a disturbing video of him kicking and slapping his pet cat emerged last week. The RSPCA have since taken Zouma's animals into care, and Zouma was fined the "maximum amount possible" by West Ham.
Despite describing his player's actions as "terrible" and "diabolical", Moyes attracted widespread criticism for choosing to start Zouma in a 1-0 win over Watford, and the defender was in line to start again at Leicester City, before withdrawing from the line-up through illness.
The West Ham boss now said the incident should not detract from either the club's good work in the community or the team's promising season on the pitch.
"We should not allow this to blight anything which has gone on before," Moyes told Sky Sports in the aftermath of the Hammers' 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium.
"A player has made a mistake, and there are plenty of managers with players who have made mistakes.
"Somewhere along the line you always hope there is a little bit of forgiveness, people are willing to accept they made a mistake, [they have] given an apology and we hope that is the case.
When asked about Zouma's condition, Moyes responded: "He was ill before the game, he wanted to play, we wanted him to play as well."
Angers 2-4 Paris Saint-Germain: Lee and Barcola bag braces as Enrique's side restore six-point lead
Paris Saint-Germain restored their six-point lead at the Ligue 1 summit with a 4-2 victory over Angers.
Luis Enrique's side did the damage in the first half at Stade Raymond Kopa, with Lee Kang-In and Bradley Barcola both scoring twice to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
PSG broke through in the 17th minute through Lee, who doubled his and the visitors' tally when he turned in Marco Asensio's low cross three minutes later.
Asensio was the provider again as the Ligue 1 leaders made it 3-0 just after the hour mark, with his centre diverted in by Barcola.
The latter grabbed his second just before half-time when he headed in from Lee's cross.
Angers made the scoreline more respectable in stoppage time, with Esteban Lepaul and Emmanuel Biumla halving the deficit for the hosts.
Data Debrief: PSG make it 30 unbeaten on the road
Now unbeaten in 30 away Ligue 1 matches, PSG are the first team in the top five European leagues to reach that mark since Napoli in 2018.
Lee scored his first brace for the club, while Asensio assisted two goals in the same league match for the first time since doing so for Espanyol against Real Betis in October 2015 (three).
Although, it was not all plain sailing for PSG, who conceded two goals in second-half stoppage time for only the second time in their history (also against Barcelona in the 2016-17 Champions League).
As for Angers, they have become the first team in Ligue 1 history to lose 15 successive matches against the same opponent.
Lopetegui used to working under pressure amid West Ham scrutiny
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui said he always works under pressure as the Hammers' inconsistent form continued with a goalless draw against Everton.
Reports earlier this week suggested Lopetegui was hanging on by a thread at West Ham, with the Hammers having made a poor start to their Premier League campaign.
A flat performance for large parts on Saturday failed to offer the response West Ham fans will have wanted to see from their side following last week's loss to Nottingham Forest.
The Hammers did, though, create the biggest chances during an improved second-half display, with Crysencio Summerville hitting the post and Jordan Pickford making a brilliant save to deny Danny Ings late on.
West Ham faced some boos from their supporters at half-time, while there was a spattering of jeers at full-time at London Stadium, but Lopetegui claimed the pressure is not telling.
"It's normal that the fans were not happy. We’re not happy with 12 points," he said.
"At the same time, other teams who look fantastic, only have three or four more points than us. We can do better, we're not happy, but we can take positives. We want more, we are not happy, we will work 24/7 to achieve this.
"Sometimes it's about the intensity, and to have the personality to do things. I think we have to improve in this. The players need to say 'Here I am and we are going to do this'.
"I always work under pressure, this is not new. I'm very happy with the players, with the club. We are not happy with our position but we are sure we are going to be able to finish higher in May – a lot of things can change.
"We are doing good things, but not enough of them to be consistent."
Everton got back on track after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Southampton last week. The Toffees could have scored through Abdoulaye Doucoure, while Jesper Lindstrom saw a header kept out by Lukasz Fabianski.
Sean Dyche said: "It's a good point, a good clean sheet. A solid performance.
"We obviously couldn't find that bit of edge in the attacking third and the bit of devil that is sometimes the difference, but a solid feel to the performance.
"We didn't really give much up, away from home in the Premier League, that’s difficult. In the end, we come away wondering if that’s one we could have won, but equally, Jordan makes a fantastic save."
West Ham 0-0 Everton: Pickford heroics salvage Toffees a point
Jordan Pickford made a stunning save deep into stoppage time as West Ham were held to a 0-0 draw by Everton at London Stadium.
Julen Lopetegui is seemingly under increasing pressure at West Ham, and though the hosts created the better chances in the end, it was a largely flat performance on Saturday.
Substitute Danny Ings, who had tested Pickford in the 87th minute, thought he had won it in the 93rd with a deflected attempt, but Everton’s goalkeeper produced a fine fingertip stop.
Pickford had been beaten earlier in the second half when Crysencio Summerville struck the post, after Jesper Lindstrom had seen a header kept out by Lukasz Fabianski at the other end.
The stalemate leaves West Ham in 14th in the Premier League, two places above Everton, heading into the international break.
Data Debrief: Shot stoppers steal the show
In a game that lacked quality from either side during the contest, a draw was perhaps a fair result and can be used as a positive heading into the international break.
While Everton registered 18 shots compared to West Ham's 11, the Toffees had to rely on Pickford on several occasions to take a point back to Goodison Park.
Pickford made six saves for Everton, but Fabianski, at the other end, was also on form. He produced four stops as both goalkeepers played pivotal roles in earning their team a valuable point.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
