(Credit: Imago, Match of the Day)

Evan Shaw

Mon 18 May 2026 6:45, UK

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West Ham United endured another chastening afternoon as they were beaten 3-1 away at Newcastle United on Sunday.

The Hammers found themselves 2-0 down to goals from Nick Woltemade and Will Osula inside the opening 20 minutes, and they never truly recovered from their poor start.

Osula added his second on 65 minutes, before Taty Castellanos scored a stunning long-range volley, which ultimately proved to be little more than a consolation for the visitors.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side could now be relegated if Tottenham win away at Chelsea on Tuesday, and their performance on Sunday has already seen them subject to plenty of criticism.

West Ham’s defensive issues were exposed by Newcastle once again, and Axel Disasi has been singled out for a poor lapse in concentration.

Mark Schwarzer baffled by Axel Disasi on Newcastle’s second goal

Disasi has largely been an impressive performer for West Ham since he arrived on loan from Chelsea back in January, but he made a crucial error in their latest loss at Newcastle.

The centre-back got sucked towards Jacob Ramsey in the middle of the Newcastle half in the build-up to the hosts’ second goal, and he made to pay for his error in the worst possible fashion.

Newcastle moved the ball up the pitch quickly with a neat passing move, and Osula was able to break free into the space vacated by Disasi, leaving Konstantinos Mavropanos with no way of dealing with him.

The forward raced clear to score the Magpies’ second goal in the space of four minutes, and Disasi has since been singled out by Mark Schwarzer for his moment of madness.

“I’m not sure what Disasi is doing,” the former Fulham goalkeeper said on Match of the Day.

“Why is he going so far away from his other centre-backs, the gaps are huge. The lack of intensity to try and get back, the lack of communication once again.

“Mavropanos has to go across, and Disasi has to react and see the danger, but they’re all really slow to react. They get torn apart and it’s really basic, poor defending.”

Disasi’s permanent move to West Ham now hangs in the balance

Football Insider revealed last week that Disasi is keen to stay at West Ham and make his move from Chelsea permanent this summer, but it will depend on the outcome of their relegation fight.

With that in mind, the prospect of the Frenchman still being at the London Stadium next term now undoubtedly hangs in the balance, given that his team are one result away from going down.

However, the club may also now be having doubts regarding his future, after the way that he and his fellow defenders crumbled in the early stages at St James’ Park.

Disasi has largely been reliable since his move to East London, but he showed why Chelsea have been so keen to offload him with the error that he made in the North East.