by Staff Writer
Wednesday, 11th February 2026
Nuno Espirito Santo was understandably disappointed as he reflected on his team conceding another goal in injury time - but pleased with the overall direction of West Ham's form as we enter the final third of the season.
In a brief post-match presser, Santo took questions on injuries, conceding late goals, the London Olympic Stadium atmosphere and Tomas Soucek, who became the leading Czech Republic scorer in the Premier League with his 45th goal in a claret and blue shirt (his 39th in the Premier League)…
Q: (Unintelligible question regarding conceding another goal in added-on time)
NES: I'm disappointed, of course. All of us - the players, the fans, ourselves - to take this blow in the final moments of the game. But like you said, we've been able to contain a very good team that was in a good dynamic. You can see the quality, the effort of the players, the organisation, the way we started. The second-half was really positive.
We scored and we defended really well with the exception of the Man United header before the goal - that was a good chance - but overall a very positive performance on the defensive aspects of the game. Also in the final moments, we had two or three situations with space in behind during which we should have put the game to bed.
Q: (Unintelligible question)
NES: Yeah, it's tough one. Yeah.
Q: How hard is it in for the team to keep coming back from those kind of games?
NES: We've been able to react, to bounce back from these disappointing moments that we've been having through the season. And the boys always been able to react and to compete. There's no other way, we have to keep on going. Today I think we competed well and showed the way. Our standards are high, we have to keep them.
Q: You talked about defending the box better from crosses against Chelsea...
NES: Yeah, but sometimes you just cannot avoid [these] I think. Of the crosses that Mbeumo did throughout his career, maybe that was the best one? So look, it is what it is. Some things you can do well and somethings you cannot avoid.
Q: What did you think of the atmosphere?
NES: Oh amazing, I think. Throughout the game the fans were there, the energy and the atmosphere at the stadium was huge. For us, helping the boys, we're going to need them. We're going to need them until the end of this huge fight that we have on our hands.
Q: (Unintelligible question relating to the balance in midfield)
NES: It worked well. We could not ignore the quality of Man United, the way they've been building and creating so many chances. Having an extra body in the middle of the park helped us to contain them better.
Q: Tomas Soucek popped up with another goal, he's had so many big moments for West Ham; what did you make of it?
NES: Ah, it was great. I think Tomas has this quality in him that he always has been able to find the space in and score and again beside that he did an amazing job in during the game.
Q: Can I check on Pablo, as well?
NES: Yeah, he's the injury that we have, unfortunately he's going to be out. That's a blow for us.
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