Only 20 days after his sacking by Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espírito Santo was back in a Premier League dugout and reminding himself why he returned so quickly. A revitalised West Ham earned a point at Everton, and deserved more after a fine second-half performance.
It is a green shoot of hope, which did not look forthcoming before the break when Everton held a lead thanks to Michael Keane’s header. West Ham equalised through a superb Jarrod Bowen strike and from then on were the most likely winners. It was not to be for Nuno but he knows this point and performance give him a platform to build on.
After a couple of days on the training ground with his new players, Nuno naturally focused on using his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation. Summer signing Soungoutou Magassa was given a full debut, in the hope he would provide the physicality and toughness so far lacking in the West Ham midfield.
If West Ham are at the design stage, Everton are a well-oiled and fully functioning machine under David Moyes. Everyone in the system knows their role and performs it to the best of their capabilities. This helped the hosts dominate the early stages, controlling possession and being able to move the ball across the pitch as they looked to find gaps. Beto and Iliman Ndiaye had chances but sent their efforts straight at Alphonse Areola while Everton were on top.
There is plenty of individual quality at Nuno’s disposal and it is his job to maximise its potential in the form of a cohesive unit. Graham Potter paid the price for not consistently getting the best out of players but he could also point the finger at a disjointed recruitment policy that began long before his arrival. The former West Ham head coach will be irritated that he did not have Crysencio Summerville available for much of his tenure because the winger looked like the visitors’ best outlet, causing problems by driving at Jake O’Brien down Everton’s right.
It felt as if Everton were the most likely to score and it came from a perfect inswinging cross from the left by James Garner, which an unmarked Keane rose highest to head home over the goalkeeper, leaving Nuno frustrated by his side’s indiscipline. Moyes has added more flair and quality to his squad for this season but Keane is quickly becoming one of his most dependable players in both boxes, an impressive turnaround for someone who was previously maligned.
Unfortunately for Nuno, he cannot remedy the constant mistakes that have been made by those above the coaching and playing staff. There is growing discontent among the West Ham supporters, who chanted “sack the board”, “we want our club back” and more explicit things aimed at the owner, David Sullivan, and the hierarchy.
West Ham are vulnerable to crosses; Keane’s goal was the eighth conceded from a corner this season. When Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall caressed the ball along the six-yard box, Everton would have had another if not for Summerville’s outstretched leg deflecting O’Brien’s shot over. The subsequent corner caused more problems, culminating with Idrissa Gueye’s rising drive only just clearing the bar.
With only a goal advantage, the tension grew among the Everton fans and they had every reason to be nervous when O’Brien gifted Summerville the chance to equalise. A long kick from Areola was not dealt with until the right-back sent a weak header back towards Jordan Pickford, which the winger intercepted with a jab, only for the goalkeeper to divert it wide.
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All the momentum was with West Ham; they were intense, especially pushing down their left. El Hadji Malick Diouf swung in another dangerous cross, which Keane could only flick to Bowen. The West Ham captain showed why he is an east London talisman by curling into the corner to score the first away goal at this stadium. He ran over to the corner flag, kissing the badge as he went, stopping the anti-Sullivan taunts momentarily.
Everton needed to rejuvenate their night and Moyes sent on Thierno Barry for the ineffective Beto with just over 20 minutes to go.
West Ham had originally crept back into the game but were now marching in Everton territory. They were thoroughly on top after the equaliser, forcing their hosts into mistakes and Pickford into saves. Nuno had identified O’Brien as the weak link and got his team to repeatedly attack him to great effect.
If it was not for some last-ditch blocks, West Ham might have secured only their second win of the season. Either way, Nuno knows nothing compares with the joys and intensity of being a Premier League head coach.
