Ben Foster shares moment he spotted in Leeds United defeat that sums up West Ham woes
West Ham are in serious trouble this season, after losing their seventh Premier League game on Friday.
Leeds United beat West Ham 2-1, with Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon netting to compound Nuno Espirito Santo‘s miseries.
The Hammers scored late on through Mateus Fernandes, but could not find an equaliser in the closing seconds at Elland Road.
West Ham struggled against set-pieces again versus Leeds, in what has been a key issue for the Hammers all season long.
In one shocking stat that emerged following the game, West Ham have led for just over 25 minutes across nine Premier League games this season.
Ben Foster slams West Ham for shocking moment vs Leeds United
Nuno Espirito Santo is already under huge pressure at West Ham, with the former Tottenham boss failing to prompt any improvement from his players.
The Portuguese coach only arrived at the end of September, but has already overseen three Premier League defeats.
| Leeds United | Match stats | West Ham |
| 41% | Possession | 59% |
| 13 | Shots | 9 |
| 5 | Shots on target | 3 |
| 1.49 | Expected goals (xG) | 0.65 |
| 3 | Big chances | 0 |
| 3 | Corners | 4 |
The latest of which portrayed a similar story for the Hammers, who offered very little competition to their opponents.
West Ham failed to create a single big chance against Leeds and made the trip back to London having scored once from just 0.65 expected goals.
Speaking to The Football Fill-in podcast on Monday, Ben Foster picked out one embarrassing moment that he spotted during the game.
“Did you see the run from Aaronson by the way?” the former Premier League goalkeeper said.
“Aaronson is a great little player anyway, a great goal that he scored, but he did a run from the edge of his box. Must have run through five players, got a shot off, deflected, and hit the crossbar.
“I was thinking ‘mate, somebody, eliminate that at source’. Take him down on the edge of the box before it even gets going. If they’re on a counterattack, you can’t.
“That’s what they’re missing, a bit of nous, pace, they’ve got no confidence, they’ve got nobody who can put the ball in the back of the net. They’re relying on Jarrod Bowen to just pull wonders out every week.”
Mateus Fernandes’ words not enough for West Ham
Speaking after the game, West Ham’s goal-scorer against Leeds, Fernandes, said: “I think we can show more, we need to play more, run more, fight more, everything more.
“But like I said, it’s a moment, it’s football. We need to work hard in silence.”
But words will not be enough. West Ham need points, and they need them fast. The Hammers already sit four points behind Fulham in 17th, and with a brutal run of games approaching, that number could easily double or triple by the end of the year.
It is a perilous situation at the London Stadium, and a massive response is needed throughout the dressing room.
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