West Ham ‘below standard’ in Crystal Palace loss says Rice

The Hammers fell to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat in the derby at London Stadium, having opened the scoring in the first half.

And Rice admitted it was another disappointing Premier League loss for David Moyes’ men, with just one more game to play before the World Cup break.

“It’s so frustrating. That is not the standards that we set ourselves. And not the standards that people demand of us. It is a disappointing loss,” Rice told whufc.com.

“It was from the off; we talk about starting well and starting quick – but we were second to everything. 

“When we did pass it, we did create chances, but it was not enough to win a Premier League game, for sure.”

Said Benrahma gave the Hammers the lead with a superb shot from the edge of the box, marking his 100th appearance for the club in style.

But Wilfried Zaha levelled before half-time, after Craig Dawson’s pass out from the back had put Thilo Kehrer under pressure, to give the Eagles a lift.

And after West Ham saw a penalty decision overturned by referee Paul Tierney, following consultation with VAR, the visitors snatched all three points in stoppage time when Michael Olise’s shot deflected off Aaron Cresswell and over Lukasz Fabianski. 

“Saïd scored a great goal – but I don’t think we attacked their goal enough or got at their back-line enough,” added Rice.

“That is something that needs to [change]. It is gutting. You throw everything at it – to get a winner – and it comes back to bite you.

“We tried our hardest, but the deflection took it in. It’s the last kick of the game, so we are gutted.”

West Ham sit in 15th place in the table after their eighth defeat in 14 matches, just two points above the relegation zone, and host Leicester on Saturday, after a midweek Carabao Cup date with Blackburn Rovers.