Leeds United 2-1 West Ham: Aaronson and Rodon pile more misery on Nuno

Nuno Espirito Santo's wait for a first win in charge of West Ham stretched to four Premier League matches as his team were beaten 2-1 by Leeds United at Elland Road.

The tale of the tape was written in the first 15 minutes on Friday, with quickfire goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon doing the damage for Daniel Farke's team. 

Just three minutes had elapsed before Alphonse Areola was picking the ball out of the net when Noah Okafor saw his back-post header brilliantly saved by the visiting goalkeeper, only for Aaronson to follow up on the rebound. 

Having seen Jarrod Bowen's bicycle kick saved at the other end, the Hammers' troubles deepened in the 15th minute when another corner-kick proved to be their undoing. 

It proved all too simple for Rodon, who easily made his way past Lucas Paqueta inside the box to thump Sean Longstaff's inviting set-piece into the back of the net. 

Paqueta then thought he had reduced the arrears when he thundered the ball in off the crossbar just after the half-hour mark, but the Brazilian was adjudged to have been in an offside position, with the on-field decision confirmed by VAR.

Not wanting to rest on their already comfortable advantage, Okafor then curled a strike just wide before Areola was on hand to thwart Jayden Bogle's attempt at the near post.

The pattern of the game continued following the restart but provided few clear-cut chances, with Aaronson coming closest to altering the scoreline after his driving run ended with a shot that deflected over Areola and onto the crossbar.

But West Ham reduced the deficit on the stroke of full-time when Bowen's delivery into the box was brilliantly glanced on by Mateus Fernandes, but it proved in vain for the out-of-form Hammers.

Leeds' third league win of the campaign moves them up to 13th in the table ahead of the weekend's action. West Ham, meanwhile, stay in the relegation zone on four points. 

Data Debrief: Hammers hindered by set-pieces again

Ahead of kick-off, Nuno acknowledged the wholesale improvements his team needed to make to halt their recent slump, but they failed to come to fruition at Elland Road. 

And their downfall came from a similar source. They have now conceded nine goals from corners in the top-flight this season, triple the amount of any other side (Aston Villa, Fulham and Leeds all on three), while it is the most of any side in the history of the competition after the opening nine games.

Indeed, West Ham's haul of just four points from their first nine games of the Premier League season is their joint-worst return ever at this stage of a league campaign, also picking up just four in the second tier in 1932-33 and in 1973-74 in the top-flight (both using three points for a win).

Nuno (D1 L3) is also the first Hammers manager to fail to win any of his first four Premier League games in charge since Manuel Pellegrini in September 2018, and the pressure will continue to intensify on the former Nottingham Forest boss.