Nuno Espirito Santo is not buying into the theory that Konstantinos Mavropanos’ exceptional performance during West Ham United’s heroic 1-1 draw with Manchester City came out of nowhere.
Mavropanos became the first defender to score a Premier League goal for the Hammers since, well, he found the net in a 2-0 win at Arsenal in December 2023. A streak of 86 matches.
Imperious at both ends of the pitch, the Greek giant then put his body on the line during one of the finest defensive performances of West Ham United’s recent history. Albeit, that is a pretty low bar in the post-Craig Dawson era.
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Speaking as the Hammers aim to upset another top-four side in Aston Villa on Sunday, though, Nuno Espirito Santo feels that Konstantinos Mavropanos has been threatening this kind of display for a while.
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“I think Dinos has been really, really helpful for us,” Nuno said at his Friday press conference. “Since I joined, I don’t recall one day where Dinos wasn’t there.
“He is a warrior.”
It is difficult to think of a more fitting description than ‘warrior’, based on last week’s gladiatorial excellence at the London Stadium.
How relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur need a defender like Mavropanos, Joe Hart quipped on a weekend in which the Hammers maintained a one-point gap between themselves and 16th.
“Of course, [people] notice the highlights – scoring a goal – but he’s doing an amazing job. I really think we are improving players individually; they are stepping up and showing their standards.”
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Previously maligned and error-prone, Mavropanos is one of those who appears to have benefitted the most from Nuno’s appointment. The Portuguese has a knack of getting career-best performances out of physically imposing, aerially dominant centre-halves. In that sense, Mavropanos appears to be on the same path as former Wolves colossus Willy Boly and Nottingham Forest powerhouse Nikola Milenkovic.
A staggering 83 per cent of Hammers News’ TalkingPoint users felt that Mavropanos deserved the Man of the Match award ahead of Mads Hermansen last weekend.
Per stats website Data MB, Mavropanos now sits in the 73rd percentile for ‘possessions won’, compared to the 32nd percentile last season. He also now sits in the 76th percentile for ‘defensive duels’.
Again, a massive increase on 18th during 2024/25.
“We still have tomorrow [to finish our preparation], and then a tough place to go on Sunday,” adds Nuno, whose side kick off at Villa Park while Tottenham face Nottingham Forest in a pair of 2pm kick-offs.
“We have reached the moment of the season where everything is pivotal. Maybe not the decisive moment, but it’s always important.”
Nuno also refutes suggestions that Aston Villa’s season is set to fizzle out. Despite three successive Premier League defeats, Villa comfortably saw off Lille in the Europa League on Thursday night, winning 3-0 on aggregate.
“I don’t see [Villa] struggling. I saw the game yesterday and saw a very good team. Unai is an amazing manager and the quality of their players is really, really tough. My objective analysis is based on what they’ve been doing.
“We know we are going to face a very tough opponent.”
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