Nuno Espirito Santo has made an instant impact at West Ham, the stats prove it
Nuno Espirito Santo has already made a big impact at West Ham United after replacing Graham Potter in the dugout.
Potter was sacked by West Ham following a very poor start to the campaign, which saw the Hammers sitting in the relegation zone.
Nuno Espirito Santo came in at the London Stadium, and managed to secure a point in his first game in charge.
West Ham drew 1-1 with Everton at the Hill Dickinson stadium, with Jarrod Bowen’s second-half equaliser cancelling out Michael Keane’s opener.
West Ham squad responded to Nuno Espirito Santo
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the West Ham players responded to Nuno during his first game in charge.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the former Nottingham Forest manager took the Hammers back to basics, to help stem the bleeding.
West Ham had managed just three points from their first five games of the Premier League season under Potter.
Wyness added that Nuno is the right person for the job and has the ability to fix this particular bump in the road.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Well, we’ve only got one game to go on, but he certainly seemed to go back to the basics and made things simple, and the team responded.
“They did look like a team in crisis last night, but in the second half, they looked like a team that had something to it. They had a lot more chances than they normally would have had. So maybe they are responding to basics.
“Certainly, Nuno’s back to no nonsense, and I think the team and the fans responded to that on Monday night. A point away at Everton, when they would have expected to lose, it did stem the bleeding for them.
“I think that Nuno may be the right person. Now, whether he’s short-term, we’ll have to wait and see, but he seems to have the right ability to fix this particular bump in the road, and certainly seems to have calmed everything down on the fan side.
“So as far as the owners are concerned, they’ve made the right decision. And I’ve got to say that last night on the pitch, they did look like a stronger team unit together.”
The stats behind Espirito Santo’s immediate impact
West Ham looked to be a more complete and competitive side under Nuno to the naked eye, and the stats backed up the idea that the 51-year-old has already made an impact.
Everton managed just 0.73 xG across the whole game, which is the lowest amount the Hammers have conceded in a single match so far this season.
Not only did they look more solid defensively, but West Ham were more expansive and aggressive going forward, with their 14 shots against the Toffees the best they’ve managed so far this campaign.
With the East London side accumulating an xG of 1.19 themselves, it was only the second time this term that they have outperformed the opposition.
| Stats | Everton | West Ham |
| Goals | 1 | 1 |
| xG | 0.73 | 1.19 |
| Shots | 12 | 14 |
| Possession | 52% | 48% |
Hammers fans will be hoping that Nuno can continue to improve the statistics, which will help his side get some much-needed points on the board.
For more West Ham United and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.