West Ham were plunged further into relegation trouble with another dismal 2-0 defeat at the hands of Leeds.
Brenden Aaronson slotted Leeds into an early after just three minutes, before some more poor defending allowed Joe Rodon to score the hosts’ second in the 15th minute, with the Hammers struggling to recover after their disastrous start – albeit Matheus Fernandes did pull one back to make it a nervy finish in added time.
Supporters of the East London team booed the players off at half-time and full-time, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign already appearing under serious threat after just three games.
The defeat keeps West Ham second-bottom in the table with only four points from nine games, while Leeds have climbed to 13th as their encouraging Premier League return continues.
Leeds vs West Ham as it happened
West Ham, beaten in seven of their opening nine league fixtures, were desperate for a bright start — but their frailties were brutally exposed within the first three minutes.
Ethan Ampadu surged forward for Leeds and helped work the ball into the area, where Noah Okafor was left unmarked to head towards goal. Brenden Aaronson reacted quicker than the motionless West Ham defence to capitalise on the loose ball.
The visitors, still finding their feet under Nuno Espirito Santo after just three matches, looked sluggish as the newly promoted hosts continued to dominate possession and territory.
Things went from bad to worse inside ten minutes, when Leeds doubled their lead from a corner.
Joe Rodon rose highest amid a crowd of claret and blue shirts to glance his header beyond the helpless goalkeeper and deepen the Hammers’ woes.
Lucas Paqueta thought he had pulled one back for the Irons after smashing home from close range but the linesman raised his flag for offside, which was eventually confirmed by VAR after the semi-automated offside system was not in use.
West Ham showed little signs of improvement after the break with, with Leeds regularly cutting through the heart of their midfield with ease.
One of the several times this occured, the Hammers were whiskers away from going three down as they backed off and off to allow Aaronson to crash a deflected shot against the woodwork.
West Ham did set up a nervy finish to the encounter, with substitute Fernandes finding the bottom corner with a delightful flick from Jarrod Bowen’s cross.
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