October 25, (THEWILL) — Nuno Espirito Santo remains without an English Premier League victory after West Ham suffered a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on Friday night. Daniel Farke’s side claimed all three points through first-half goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon, leaving the Hammers rooted in the relegation zone.
Leeds struck inside three minutes when Aaronson converted the rebound after Alphonse Areola had saved Noah Okafor’s header. The hosts doubled their advantage in the 15th minute when Rodon met Sean Longstaff’s corner with a powerful finish, leaving Lucas Paqueta trailing in his wake. West Ham thought they had pulled one back through Paqueta’s effort off the crossbar, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
The second half produced fewer openings, though Aaronson went close when his deflected shot struck the bar. Okafor had earlier curled wide, whilst Areola denied Jayden Bogle at the near post before the interval. Jarrod Bowen had also seen a bicycle kick saved in the opening exchanges.
West Ham managed a late reply when Mateus Fernandes glanced home Bowen’s cross in stoppage time, but the goal came too late to alter the outcome. The defeat extends the London club’s poor run of form under their new manager, who has overseen four winless league matches since taking charge.
Leeds climb to 13th place with their third league win of the season, whilst West Ham remain in trouble with just four points from their opening fixtures. The Yorkshire club controlled proceedings throughout and could have won by a greater margin had they capitalised on further chances created during the contest.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
