Any West Ham United XI shorn of the talents of Lucas Paqueta and Crysencio Summerville, like away at Bournemouth in Saturday’s 2-2 draw, is always going to lack a dash of verve.
On reflection, while the full-time feeling may be one of frustration after the Hammers let a two-goal half-time lead slip, that they managed to take a point off Bournemouth without two of their star forwards is pretty commendable.
Nuno Espirito Santo felt West Ham had an ‘impossible’ task trying to make up for Lucas Paqueta’s absence. In the end, rather than push Mateus Fernandes forward or start Tomas Soucek, Nuno opted to switch to a back-five. This meant Brighton loanee Igor Julio a first start of the season.
Some wanted to see Luis Guilherme get a chance to prove his worth, meanwhile, and they would get their wish. The £25 million Brazilian was in as Crysencio Summerville dropped out due to injury.
In hindsight, given that West Ham United would spend the entire second half hanging on by the final cuticle of their fingernails, Nuno may look back on those in-game changes – rather his pre-game alterations – with a pang of regret.
Nuno Espirito Santo explains why West Ham United struggled in the second-half at Bournemouth
Nuno accepts that Tomas Soucek’s introduction didn’t really work this time. And though Luis Guilherme exited proceedings at the break, his pace and trickery in tight spaces could have come in particularly handy for a side who lacked any sort of a threat in transition.
“We couldn’t get out! We wanted to go, but the first pass didn’t come,” Nuno told BBC Sport at full-time. “Bournemouth started pressing. We just couldn’t get out.”
With Andoni Iraola instructing his team to push up towards the halfway line, West Ham lacked both the guile of Lucas Paqueta and the explosive dribbling of Summerville. Thus, any time the ball found itself at the feet of Soucek or fellow substitute Niclas Fullkrug, it would be only a matter of seconds before possession changed hands again.
“Many aspects [contributed to this]. Credit to Bournemouth. I think we should have done better. The pitch, the wind, a tough game,” Nuno adds.
“But something was missing in terms of transition, getting that first pass out and trying to punish Bournemouth in some space. The boys were organised but were missing the pass to get out of pressure, to really hurt them with space, under tough circumstances.”
Crysencio Summerville and Lucas Paqueta should return for Liverpool
In the end, West Ham needed an ‘incredible’ Alphonse Areola display to extend their unbeaten run to three.
“The positive is that I think the team was resilient, was organised, was compact, and was really committed.
“Something was missing. Something that we have to work on and try to take and hold on to the kind of advantage [we built]. Not only to hold on, but try to punish teams when you achieve this advantage.”
Club inside Sean Whetstone would reveal on his official X account that Summerville had picked up a ‘minor knock’ pre-match.
Nuno will be hoping to have the former Leeds and Feyenoord speedster back as West Ham look to deepen Liverpool’s misery at the London Stadium next time out. Lucas Paqueta will also be available to feature against to the beleaguered champions.
The Brazilian’s one-match suspension now over.
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