West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has said that his side's pre-season match against Juventus was a "good test" ahead of the new campaign.
The Hammers battled back from two goals down against the Italian champions courtesy of a brace from Andy Carroll, but a late strike from Simone Zaza condemned them to a 3-2 defeat at the Olympic Stadium.
Bilic was unhappy with his side's defending for the winning goal, but all in all felt that it was a good way to wrap up their preparations for the 2016-17 campaign.
"It was a good test for us. We started sloppily – we hit the post after 15 minutes but they are a top class team and if you are on the back foot and give them a yard, they can pass the ball and play football. If you give them three or four yards then it's too easy for them," he told the club's official website.
"That's what we gave them at the start – okay we played three nights ago and were a little bit tired – but then after that we came back into the game and changed the rhythm. It was much more aggressive, we made it harder for them and Andy scored his type of goals. They are of course very important for us and he is great for us.
"Then we put some young players in because we don't want to risk injuries and that kind of things. We thought it was going to end 2-2, but then we conceded one that from our point of view was too easy and sloppy. It was a packed stadium against one of the biggest clubs and best teams in Europe. It was a good test for us and great to see the fans filling our stadium again."
West Ham's first match of the new season comes against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Monday.
Barney Corkhill
