The West Ham forward didn’t hold back after Sunderland’s stunning 3-0 win on the Premier League’s opening day
The Hammers travelled to the Stadium of Light on 16 August aiming to get off to a strong start, but failed to capitalise on their chances against Régis Le Bris’ newly-promoted side and were punished in ruthless fashion. While new signing Malick El Hadji Diouf played well, most of Bowen’s teammates delivered an abject display that left the England forward furious.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Bowen admitted he was “fuming” with the manner of the loss and demanded a swift response when Chelsea visit the London Stadium on 22 August. “Yeah I’m obviously fuming, I wanna start the season on a high and do you know I thought in the Premier League if you don’t take your opportunities, it’s only a matter of time if you don’t defend well enough.
“I thought the goals were quite easy and we’re all disappointed on that behalf in the manner that we conceded the goals. You’re going to lose games at this level if that happens. So obviously disappointed, fuming with the start we’ve had today… you want to put it right, and we have an opportunity to do that at home on Friday night.”
As Bowen made his anger clear, teammate Lucas Paquetá struck a more optimistic tone on social media, taking to Instagram to assure supporters that the squad would regroup. He wrote: “Together as a team. It’s just the beginning and I know we’re going to have a great season.”
The result leaves Graham Potter under immediate pressure, with memories of last season’s sack talk already resurfacing – but Bowen’s fury and Paquetá’s defiance summed up a dressing room determined to put things right.
What did Régis Le Bris say after Sunderland vs West Ham?
Head coach Régis Le Bris hailed Sunderland’s players after their 3-0 victory over West Ham United but warned that humility and togetherness must remain central to their Premier League campaign.
The Black Cats returned to the top flight in style on Saturday, with second-half goals from Eliezer Mayenda, Dan Ballard and Wilson Isidor sealing their first Premier League win in over eight years.
Le Bris was delighted with the way his players responded to half-time instructions after a challenging first half and praised their ability to execute the gameplan. He also revealed that captain Granit Xhaka addressed the squad post-match to stress the importance of staying united.
“I'm happy for the fans and the players and the club,” Le Bris said. “We had different phases of pre-season and we spoke about the layers we needed to add. It was obvious that it starts from the foundations – we showed that the team is working well.
He added: “They were hard to beat in a mid to low block. The first half was a bit more difficult but during the second half we felt we could get opportunities through regains in the middle and that we could score through counter attacks.
“We didn't change many important things at half time. We spoke a bit about their goalkeeper restarts and our high press, we went for man for man and they found two or three opportunities with long balls. So it was really important to be strong in duels. We made just two or three little decisions, and it made a difference.”
Le Bris was also keen to highlight that Sunderland’s three goals came from players who were already at the club last season, despite a summer of heavy recruitment. “It's really important for two reasons, they showed they can step up [first and foremost],” he said.
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“We'll see later, but today it was the case. And it's really important because they keep the identity of the club and the way we worked last season. We built this strength about togetherness, the way we work as a team. The players worked well as a team and they showed that again today.”
The Frenchman added that while the opening-day victory was a proud moment for everyone connected to the club, Sunderland would remain focused on the long campaign ahead.
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