Nuno Espirito Santo has delivered his verdict on West Ham’s crucial 1-1 draw at Man United and it is fair to say the Hammers’ head coach is happy with his players.
West Ham came away from Old Trafford with a deserved point thanks to Soungoutou Magassa’s first Premier League goal.
Magassa was the man of the match as the Hammers came from behind to keep the fire burning on their survival hopes.
West Ham were deservedly level 0-0 at half-time but Diogo Dalot’s composed finish to a scrappy move gave Man United the lead in the second half.
It was a late – and delayed – change from Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo which got West Ham back in the game, though.
Nuno had Mohamadou Kante and Andy Irving waiting for nearly five minutes to come on before telling them to sit back down.
But the Portuguese had the pair up again to come on and Irving made an instant impact.
The Scot’s first touch was to take a corner and it was the best of the night, finding Jarrod Bowen’s head, forcing a block on the line before the ball was slotted home by Magassa.
Nuno led his players over to thank West Ham’s brilliant travelling fans after the vital point.
He was then shown on TV congratulating his team in the dressing room.
Now the Hammers boss has delivered his verdict on the performance and result.
Every word Nuno said on West Ham’s crucial draw at Man United
Here’s every word Nuno said on West Ham’s crucial draw at Man United.
“I think all the game, all the game, we should be really proud of the boys, they worked really hard to contain Man United,” Nuno told Sky Sports live after the game.
“At the same time we went for the game and the boys worked really hard so we have to be glad.
“I was very, very happy (to equalise) when you see the ball go inside (the goal), very happy. Because I think we were on top of the game at that moment and we had the momentum of that situation.
“Yes of course (I’m pleased the substitutions worked). I’m very pleased with the work of Jarrod, we are happy to have him as a captain, he leads by example, he did an amazing game today.
Nuno: It could have been three points for Hammers at Old Trafford
“He (Aaron Wan-Bissaka) did good, he was good, I think our defence today was OK. The goal that we concede comes from a rebound, nothing to do with organisation – the covers were there, the hard work was there.
“I think all the defensive line was very, very, very positive.
“It’s important (the point) because it’s a tough place to come and we are proud that we achieved something. It could have been three, I felt that we had good momentum, Man United of course also had chances but we can’t change anything.
“We are trying to build something – with the urgency of needing results – looking always for a better performance.
“But what it means is we will recover faster for Brighton because when we have a good result and good performance the legs recover faster.
“So we expect again a tough match on Sunday but with a better recovery. I thought that all the game but especially the second half the way we played, the way we combined we create many, many problems to Man United.”
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