Nuno praises resurgent West Ham after ending Man United’s winning streak | OneFootball

Nuno's West Ham were denied victory late on (Getty Images)

West Ham United 1-1 Manchester United

Nuno Espírito Santo admitted it was difficult to accept just a point after watching his West Ham United side concede a late equaliser to Manchester United in the Premier League.

Nuno’s team, with Mateus Fernandes in midfield, continued their recent strong form by ending United’s four-match winning streak, but having controlled their opponents’ attacks for much of the game the Portuguese boss was left frustrated with the draw.

Both teams came into the match strong on confidence, with the Hammers winning four of their previous five matches in all competitions, progressing in the FA Cup while re-igniting their hopes in the relegation battle. United arrived in the capital with Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes in the line-up, on the back of a run of four straight victories, which put them 4th place in the standings.

West Ham coped superbly with the United threat throughout the encounter, reducing their opponents to few opportunities before going ahead 1-0 through Tomas Soucek on 50 minutes. United struggled to pose a threat during the remainder of the game, but after a generous seven minutes of injury time were added, the Red Devils struck with a 96th-minute leveller by Benjamin Sesko.

“We’re disappointed of course, all of us – the players, the fans, ourselves… to take this final blow in the final moments of the game,” Nuno said. “But we competed really well. We’ve been able to contain a very good team that was in a good dynamic. I think we did a good game, the boys worked hard. But it was not to be. It’s a draw that gives us sadness. But this is the way. The way we competed today was very good.

“You can see the quality, the effort of the players, the organisation. The way we started the second half was really positive, we scored and we defended really well, with some exceptions. But overall a very positive in the defensive aspect of the game. And also in the final moments we had two or three moments where we should put the game to bed.

“We have been able to react, to bounce back from these difficult moments. The boys have been able to react and compete. There’s no other way. We have to keep on going. Today we competed well. We showed the way, our standards are high. We have to keep them.

“We showed everybody today that we have to keep believing, because competing like this we’re going to be okay.”

The result leaves West Ham continuing in 18th place, where they moved two points behind Nuno’s former club Nottingham Forest in their bid to maintain their Premier League status.

By Sean Gillen