Nuno Espírito Santo admitted it may sound “absurd” to call West Ham’s display positive after a 5-2 defeat at Anfield, but insisted the scoreline did not reflect the balance of the game against Liverpool.
The Hammers were beaten 5-2 on Saturday as Liverpool climbed to fifth in the Premier League table, yet Nuno argued that his side created enough chances to produce a very different outcome.
Nuno Espírito Santo reacts to Liverpool 5-2 West Ham result
Liverpool surged into a 3-0 half-time lead through Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister. All three goals stemmed from corner situations, a detail that particularly frustrated the West Ham head coach.
Despite trailing heavily, Nuno felt his team had played well in open play.
“It’s difficult to explain. Maybe it is absurd to say that it is a good performance when you lose 5-2.
But there’s a lot of positive in our game. A lot of negatives also. But you go off at half-time and you have your players in front of you and you say: ‘Boys you are playing good, but we are losing three zero’.
We create a lot of situations and we combine well, but we really made mistakes on our set-pieces. The three goals come from corners.”
— Nuno Espírito Santo
West Ham responded early in the second half when Tomáš Souček reduced the deficit. Cody Gakpo restored Liverpool’s three-goal cushion, but Taty Castellanos struck again to briefly raise hopes of a comeback before Axel Disasi’s own goal sealed the contest.
Set-piece frustration at Anfield
The Premier League’s ongoing trend of goals from dead-ball situations continued at Anfield, with Liverpool capitalising ruthlessly from corners.
Nuno acknowledged that defending set-pieces has been a focus area for his staff.
“It's frustrating as a coaching staff. It's something that we've been really putting a lot of effort and time into to make it right.
Recently there was improvement. But today, all the first three Liverpool goals come from corner situations.
There's no other way to look at it. Admit that we made mistakes and improve for the next one.”
Having followed West Ham’s recent fixtures closely, their open-play combinations showed fluency at times, but defensive concentration in key moments proved costly. However, it remains clear that conceding three set-piece goals at a venue like Anfield makes recovery extremely difficult.
Key Insights
- West Ham conceded three goals from corners in the first half.
- Nuno described the performance as positive despite the 5-2 loss.
- Liverpool moved up to fifth in the Premier League table.
- Defensive set-pieces were identified as the decisive factor.
- West Ham created multiple chances but lacked clinical finishing.
What’s Next?
West Ham must quickly address their defensive organisation before their next Premier League outing, with set-piece preparation likely to dominate training sessions this week.
Liverpool, meanwhile, continue their push for European qualification, buoyed by renewed attacking efficiency and improved effectiveness from dead-ball situations.
Was Nuno right to see positives in defeat, or does a 5-2 loss leave little room for optimism?
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