West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola admitted that he and his teammates created too many difficulties for themselves in Saturday's 0-3 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the home side's three first-half goals ultimately deciding the outcome. West Ham had come to Molineux Stadium hoping to end their previous eight-game winless streak.  

West Ham United's opponents have yet to win a league match this season, but West Ham had already shown some competitiveness in their previous 2-2 draw against Brighton. John Arias' goal in the 4th minute almost put West Ham on the back foot early on, but Hwang Hee-chan's penalty and Matthäus Mane's goal before halftime quickly widened the gap.  

After the match, Alphonse Areola said: "We made a lot of mistakes at the beginning and quickly conceded the first goal. Then we conceded another goal, which made it very difficult for us to come back. The first goal was crucial, but our reaction was not ideal. We came here to win, but we failed to play to our potential in the first half."  

"Obviously, we had to go all out in the second half. Although we showed some fighting spirit, our overall performance was not enough to allow us to regain control of the game."  

This defeat dropped West Ham United to 18th place after 20 league games, four points away from safety. Next, they face a crucial home game on Wednesday against 17th-placed Nottingham Forest. Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has made it clear that winning the next game at the London Stadium is critical, and a return to form is especially important as the second half of the 2025/26 season begins.  

Finally, he added, "The key now is to put this game behind us as soon as possible, stay calm, and prepare for the next one. We've maintained our confidence recently because we've shown positive performances in previous matches. We were unlucky today, but the most important thing is to keep moving forward and strive to win the next game."