Nuno Espirito Santo finally got his first win as West Ham United boss in their 3-1 win over Newcastle United on Sunday, pushing them to within three points of Premier League safety. And a tactical tweak he made from his previous London Stadium fixture was the key to success.
Nuno Espirito Santo joined West Ham just over a month ago, and despite grabbing a point at Everton in his first game, a poor run of form saw him record three consecutive losses to Arsenal, Brentford and Leeds in the Premier League.
West Ham’s loss away at Arsenal wasn’t by any means their worst result, but a dreadful performance at home to Brentford brought the booboys out at West Ham, while the defeat to Leeds was equally humiliating for their Premier League survival chances.
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But a tactical change that Nuno made from the game against Brentford by starting Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf in the full-back slots really dragged them over the line.
West Ham United manager Nuno Espirito Santo shouts instructions during his side's defeat against Arsenal
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Nuno made a huge tactical failure against Brentford to question his appointment
Nuno’s first home game for West Ham came against Brentford, who were tipped to be relegation candidates after manager Thomas Frank joined Tottenham.
But it was new boss Keith Andrews who got the last laugh over the Portuguese gaffer with a 2-0 win for Brentford.
West Ham were appalling on the night, conceding 22 shots and having just seven of their own, and it’s fair to say that 2-0 flattered them.
However, one major mistake Nuno made on the night was starting youngster Oliver Scarles at right-back, with Kyle Walker-Peters playing on the opposite flank.
For all of their poor form up until that point in the campaign, Malick Diouf had been by far West Ham’s best signing of the summer with three assists in his first seven games.
But Diouf was inexplicably dropped by Nuno for that clash, and Walker-Peters didn’t play well, leading to the Senegal star being introduced at half-time.
The same went for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The former Manchester United star was one of West Ham’s best players last season but Scarles was used instead.
However, a reverting of the guard against Newcastle dragged a win over the line.
West Ham players celebrate vs Newcastle
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Nuno won’t make the same mistake again after getting his first West Ham win
Per Sofascore, Diouf was accurate with 26 of his 35 passes against Newcastle, whilst all three of his dribbles were completed and impressively, he won 10 of his 12 ground duels to keep the Hammers in the game.
Wan-Bissaka was the same. Whilst less proficient on the ball, he completed 18 of his 26 passes, and played a key part in the goal that gave the Hammers the lead.
His cross was turned into his own net by Dutch defender Sven Botman after a superb run down the right-hand side put the Magpies star into a crossroads.
It was such an obvious change that Nuno needed to make, bringing his most experienced and creative defenders into a side that leaked goals – and now that he’s got his team in a winning groove, you can expect that team selection to remain the same.