Nuno to shake his head at West Ham frailties as European-topping reveal emerges
Nuno Espirito Santo’s biggest problem is getting West Ham’s defence solid for an important upcoming run of Premier League fixtures.
The Hammers thought they had wrapped up another three points when leading Manchester United 1-0 in the 90th minute at the London Stadium on Tuesday, but Benjamin Sesko had other plans.
The moment of a lapse in defensive concentration cost the Irons an additional two points as they continue their fight for Premier League survival.
West Ham have had defensive issues all season long, but the goal conceded midweek has Nuno‘s side as one of the worst defences at an elite level in the entire world.
West Ham 2nd for goals conceded in Europe’s top five leagues
West Ham have shown improvement under Nuno in recent weeks, but it could be too little too late, especially if they don’t sort their backline out.
Granted, the former Nottingham Forest boss has had to pick up the pieces that Graham Potter left behind, as it could be argued that the Hammers were set on a path for failure from the first minute of the season.
It’s taken time for the Hammers to heal, and the West Ham boss seems to have his side clicking in attack, but defensively, they have still shown big reason to worry.
As seen in the graphic above, the Irons are now joint-top with Burnley for having conceded the most goals across Europe’s top five leagues with 49.
Wolves, who have only managed to pick up one win this season, even have a better defensive record than West Ham, and it could be the area that leads to their relegation if it’s not improved.
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What do the stats say about West Ham’s recent defensive displays?
Although the new reveal is grim viewing, the truth is that the Hammers have shown signs of improvement at the back in recent games, and it may just be that run of 10 games without a win that is harming Nuno’s reputation.
West Ham were agonisingly close to getting their second clean sheet in as many Premier League games before conceding late on to Man United. However, every cloud has a silver lining.
- West Ham have conceded 5.28 xG in their last four matches
- During that period, they have conceded five goals
West Ham’s last four games have shown statistics of a fairly average Premier League defence, with a combined expected goal rate of 5.28 for opposing sides.
Although it’s a slight upgrade on the ridiculously high volume of xG that was being conceded in previous matches, it’s still not good enough for the Hammers.
West Ham are playing catch-up right now, and every single aspect of their game has to be above average.
For more tactical insight and updates on West Ham, head to Football Insider to check out the latest on Nuno’s side.