West Ham United manager Nuno Espirito Santo spoke to the media following his side’s 2-1 win over Everton at London Stadium
Nuno Espirito Santo hailed the “legacy” left at West Ham United by David Moyes as two of his best signings for the club spoiled his first return to the London Stadium as an opposition manager but admitted he was scared that Everton would be awarded a penalty.
It was a triple milestone for Moyes on Saturday as he also ‘celebrated’ his 63rd birthday on what was his 750th Premier League match as a manager, a feat that only serial title winners Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Arsene Wenger of Arsenal have also achieved but the Hammers spoiled his party with Callum Wilson’s stoppage time strike inflicting a 2-1 defeat for the Blues. Much of the damage had been done by Tomas Soucek, who headed in the first goal before clearing an effort from Thierno Barry off the line, and captain Jarrod Bowen who were both brought to the club by the Glaswegian gaffer in January 2020.
When it was suggested to Nuno that the pair were a couple of Moyes’ best signings, he said: “I agree. I think David left a legacy here at the club and brought success and trophies.
“Jarrod is the skipper and the leader at the club. You just have to see how he works and gives his all – today he got two assists, fantastic.
“We are being consistent in our set-pieces. There is no secret, I think it comes from the delivery and it was spot-on so Tomas just has to go there.
“We have Tomas, we have Tinos (Kostantinos Mavropanos) who has been fantastic for us on set-pieces. Set-pieces can change the game, next week we go to Brentford – throw-ins – it’s big, it plays a big part in the game.”
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Everton were left stunned when they missed out on a penalty after Mateus Fernandes reached out for the ball and handled it in the area while marking Barry. Referee Stuart Attwell failed to spot the offence on the pitch while VAR pair Michael Salisbury and Daniel Robathan didn’t recommend that a spot-kick should be given either.
When asked whether he thought it was a penalty, Nuno said: “I did not see the image, but I was scared!”
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest boss was pleased with both the reaction of the West Ham team and their supporters to regain the lead, though, after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had struck Everton level on 88 minutes. Nuno said: “Nobody is making it easy. It’s going to be a big fight – until the end – but the good thing is that we don’t give up.
“Especially here at the London Stadium, it’s a huge factor in the Premier League, we know how important it is and we’ve been really good and the fans have been fantastic for us with the noise, the energy that they give for the boys. We have still got two games to go here at home.
“If you look back, even in the FA Cup, this moment in the end, it didn’t end up well, but the boys believed and the energy of the fans has been fantastic. It’s starting to feel good, I think the boys appreciate it, to play at home.
“You can see that today. Even when you concede and it’s a big blow, the next move is to go forward and to try and get a goal and this is character and makes us proud.
“We are not aware of what’s happening in the other stadium. But the first move was to run: ‘Let’s go forward,’ and it’s huge for us.
“I’ve always said, as long as we give, the fans will give back. The energy is good and the atmosphere is good.”
