Nuno Espirito Santo lamented West Ham’s inability to control the match as they twice relinquished the lead and lost 3-2 at home to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Mateus Fernandes scored after 30 seconds and Jarrod Bowen was also on target at the London Stadium, but Morgan Rogers’ double proved the difference after a Konstantinos Mavropanos own goal had initially restored parity.
The Hammers have now failed to win five straight games in the Premier League, drawing three and losing two, with boss Nuno admitting they need to improve their defensive vulnerability.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Nuno – whose side are 18th – said: “We were not in control of the game, we conceded to a ball that was ours. We scored, but the negative is that we conceded three goals which really punished us.”
“They have good players and individual talent that we should have defended against better.
“Today we are sad and it is painful for us and our fans that we did not win at home. We must correct the mistakes we continue to make in our defensive organization.”
“There is still a long way to go, and it is up to us to take care of that and get out of this situation.”
Villa takes the three points. pic.twitter.com/0vJo07MPWB
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 14, 2025
The defeat here was the first time West Ham had taken the lead twice in a league match, losing since November 2016 with a 3-2 defeat at Tottenham.
Bowen became the second player after Michail Antonio (101) to score 100 goals in the Premier League for West Ham (61 goals, 39 assists), but ultimately it was a day to forget.
Losing goalkeeper Alphonse Areola said: “We are frustrated now. We did a lot of good things, but it was not enough.”
“The result is against us, so we have to work harder to get the points in the next game. We have to correct small details, re-examine the game and see what went wrong today.”
“We have done good things that we need to keep and be stronger now. We also wanted the win at home on a special day, so let’s keep pushing and stick together.”
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