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West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo got it all wrong in a disastrous defeat to Aston Villa while captain Jarrod Bowen continued his poor form to leave the Hammers staring at relegation.
It was billed survival Sunday in the Premier League as West Ham went to Aston Villa while Spurs welcomed Nottingham Forest.
But the Hammers were the biggest losers and their two main leaders, Nuno Espirito Santo and Jarrod Bowen, were found lacking when it mattered most.
Aston Villa have been poor of late, losing their last three Premier League games.
Nuno and Bowen found wanting at worst time for West Ham
West Ham had the chance to go into the two-week international break outside the relegation zone with a win.
Nuno felt going defensive was the answer but it backfired spectacularly.
A very underwhelming Villa Park defeat! 🙄
Describe THAT performance in one word…
Opting to stick with three at the back, the Hammers were rocked before kick-off when Jean-Clair Todibo pulled up with an injury.
That handed Nuno the chance to rethink his strategy and attack the game.
Instead the Portuguese replaced Todibo with defensive midfielder Freddie Potts – and again it backfired.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Potts was chasing shadows all first half and West Ham were lucky they were not three or four goals down at half-time, trailing 1-0 at the break.
Potts was then subbed off but without Crysencio Summerville West Ham look distinctly average.
The Dutchman’s absence also makes it much easier for the opposition to double up on Hammers skipper Bowen.
After carrying West Ham on his back for the last two years, Bowen has hit the worst form of his entire Hammers career at the worst possible time.
Mavropanos the only Hammer who can hold his head up high
Bowen always busts a gut and tries his best for the team of course.
But the captain was off the boil yet again, losing the ball to cost West Ham the killer second goal on 68 minutes.
Who was the BEST of a bad bunch at Villa Park?
Give us your Man of the Match – if you can…
Few West Ham players covered themselves in glory bar Konstantinos Mavropanos. If every Hammers player showed his desire and level of effort, things would have been very different.
Mads Hermansen has been decent since coming into the side. But the Dane made a terrible error to gift Ollie Watkins his usual goal against the Hammers.
There is even an argument that Alphonse Areola would have stopped both Villa goals.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
But the real issue is that Nuno’s tactics failed to make any sense once again at a pivotal moment and Bowen failed to show once more with West Ham’s Premier League lives now very much on the line.
Heading into the game, given Forest have the toughest remaining fixtures other than West Ham, a Spurs win looked the best outcome for Nuno’s side.
So news from north London that Tottenham lost 3-0 to Forest made an already disastrous day worse for West Ham.
Forest were the closest to the Hammers in terms of goal difference but the day’s action put another five goals between them.
Tottenham have much kinder remaining fixtures and West Ham now face a run of matches where they simply must produce at least three wins – maybe four – to have any hope of survival.
West Ham player and manager ratings vs Aston Villa:
Nuno: 3/10.
Hermansen: 3/10, Wan-Bissaka: 6/10, Mavropanos: 9/10, Disasi: 6.5/10, Diouf: 6/10, Soucek: 5/10, Fernandes: 6.5/10, Bowen: 5/10, Castellanos: 4/10, Pablo: 6.5/10.
Subs: Wilson and Traore 6.5/10. Magassa and Kane: 6/10.
Relegation run-in remaining fixtures:TeamRemaining fixtures (Opponent + H/A)West Ham UnitedWolves (H), Crystal Palace (A), Everton (H), Brentford (A), Arsenal (H), Newcastle United (A) and Leeds United (H)Nottingham ForestAston Villa (H), Burnley (H), Sunderland (A), Chelsea (A), Newcastle United (H), Man United (A) and Bournemouth (H)Tottenham HotspurSunderland (A), Brighton (H), Wolves (A), Aston Villa (A), Leeds United (H), Chelsea (A) and Everton (H)Leeds UnitedMan United (A), Wolves (H), Bournemouth (A), Burnley (H), Spurs (A), Brighton (H) and West Ham (A)Join Our Newsletter
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