West Brom

West Ham spent the week talking about slow starts. Jarrod Bowen wrote in the matchday programme that Nuno Espirito Santo had sat the squad down to address them. Twenty minutes in at the London Stadium they were behind again, and by the final whistle James Morrison's West Brom had done exactly what Southampton did here a week earlier.

Morrison had promised his side would be compact, defend the box and break quickly through the wide areas. They did all of it. West Ham had more of the ball and more of the corners, but West Brom made the better chances: 2.05 expected goals to the Hammers' 1.03.

Behind, level, behind again

Mohamadou Kanté had the first sight of goal, firing high and wide from a corner inside the opening minute, and Pablo dragged one just past the post on ten. But when the first goal came it was West Brom's, and it came the way Morrison had drawn it up. A clinical break ended with Jimmy-Jay Morgan supplying Felix Myhre, who finished from close range in the 20th minute. Isaac Price then spurned a golden chance to double the lead.

West Ham made them pay. Kanté turned provider on 29 minutes and Bowen's angled shot from the right of the box deflected in off the near post, via the studs of Styles. The captain had his equaliser, and for the rest of the half West Ham looked the likelier side without seriously testing Max O'Leary again.

Three minutes after the restart

Whatever was said at half-time, West Brom heard it better. Inside three minutes of the second half Airidas Golambeckis made an error, Myhre and Morgan swapped roles, and Morgan tucked a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner.

West Ham threw bodies forward. Max Kilman's header from Bowen's cross was kept out by O'Leary in the top corner, and Kyle Walker-Peters had a shot from distance saved too. West Brom almost made it three on the hour when Ousmane Diakité poked wide from close range after a corner.

Nuno sent on Joël Piroe and Manor Solomon, then Tomás Souček, Valentín Castellanos and Joël Veltman, the last of them for the injured Walker-Peters. It was from the corner Veltman conceded moments later that the game ended as a contest. Morato slipped, and Callum Styles lashed a left-footed shot through a crowd and into the bottom left corner on 72 minutes.

No way back

Morgan went off injured five minutes later, replaced by Aune Heggebø, and West Brom saw it out without much alarm. Castellanos had a shot saved from outside the box, blazed another over on the break and was denied again by O'Leary in stoppage time. O'Leary needed treatment late on, and Jayson Molumby's booking was the only blot on a disciplined away display.

West Ham had 14 shots but only five on target, and Nuno has now gone four home games without a win in all competitions, losing three. For West Brom it was a third win in four. Bowen's programme notes asked for the talking to be done on the pitch. On this evidence, West Brom did it better.

Sacked in the morning

Before the final whistle the West Brom end was singing "You're getting sacked in the morning" at Nuno, and West Ham supporters joined in. Afterwards he did not pretend otherwise.

Everyday there is pressure. I'm disappointed because we wanted to improve things. We want to win matches.

Nuno Espirito Santo, West Ham head coach, post-match press conference (via The Athletic's Roshane Thomas)

This is the reality. You can only change this if we win games. We dropped points against Burnley, lost to Charlton, Southampton and West Brom. The only solution is to improve. When we do that, our fans are going to stick with us.

Nuno Espirito Santo, West Ham head coach, on the chants (via The Athletic's Roshane Thomas)

Morrison, on the other hand, called it his side's best away win under him because it was "a complete performance".

The scenes at the end are what we work for.

James Morrison, West Brom head coach, on the travelling support (via BBC WM's Steve Hermon)

He went further after the game.

That performance has been coming. I know how difficult this league is and some teams have spent heavily, but we have to have that belief that we can handle the pressure.

James Morrison, West Brom head coach (PA)

In terms of that, and scoring at the right times, it was the complete performance.

James Morrison