The unfamiliar sensation coursing through West Ham is hope. Seemingly down and out after their devastating defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this month, the prospect of Nuno Espírito Santo masterminding the unlikeliest of escapes feels far from outlandish after seeing his side treat the London Stadium to the rare sensation of a performance full of craft, desire and tactical intelligence.
Sunderland were blown away by three goals inside the first 43 minutes. They looked stunned by West Ham’s intensity and quality in attack. Jarrod Bowen was outstanding, Crysencio Summerville scored for the third time in as many games and the brilliance of Mateus Fernandes in midfield suggested that West Ham will be able to cope if they grant Lucas Paquetá his wish to join Flamengo.
Of course, West Ham remain outsiders to stay up despite recording back-to-back wins in all competitions. They are two points below Forest before Sean Dyche’s side visit Brentford on Sunday and remain without a clean sheet since August. Yet Nuno has to take heart from this mini-revival, even if Sunderland were the most obliging of guests.
West Ham, who are closing in on a deal for the Fulham winger Adama Traoré, had to build on last weekend’s win over Tottenham. Nuno named an unchanged side and looked to attack. West Ham were in an old-fashioned 4-4-2, with Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos leading the line, and placed much of their focus on finding Bowen and Summerville in space on the wings.
