Gary Neville baffled by Nuno Espirito Santo in West Ham loss vs Manchester United – ‘Strange’
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has come under question for what he did against Manchester United on Thursday.
Man United fell to a draw against West Ham as a late Soungoutou Magassa strike was enough to steal a point away from Old Trafford.
The Hammers struggled for large spells against the Red Devils, with Lucas Paqueta missing after his red card against Liverpool last time around.
Luis Guilherme was missing away to Man United, and that didn’t help with the lack of quality on the bench, which only raised further questions.
Nuno made a strange decision in the second half against Ruben Amorim’s men, one that left Gary Neville confused on commentary.
Nuno Espirito Santo halted substitutions away to Man United
Jarrod Bowen was compared to Mohamed Salah at Old Trafford as he showed the only true moment of quality until Magassa netted the leveller.
The England international was then involved for the equaliser as his flicked header was cleared off the line before the Frenchman scored.
His strike changed the tide and saw the Irons dominate the final exchanges and come close to grabbing a late winner in M16.
Nuno had planned to make a trio of changes prior to the goal, with the additions seemingly made while players waited for several minutes.
The head coach then asked them to sit down, much to the confusion of Neville on the gantree for Sky Sports Main Event.
He said: “A change of mind, strange – they were stripped for two or three minutes.”
Gary Neville right to change West Ham changes – or lack of
The Irons showed so little quality throughout the first half in particular at Old Trafford that changes were exactly what was needed.
There may have been a lack of quality on the bench, but there is no doubt that even young players like George Earthy and Callum Marshall could have made a difference.
Nuno decided against making those changes early on and instead held out and made conservative substitutions later in the day.
Andy Irving and Mohamadou Kante came on and made an instant impact, but rather than going for the kill, the Hammers boss brought on Max Kilman.
The frustration of that can’t be understated, but at the end of the day, a point at Old Trafford is a positive result.
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