Nuno Espirito Santo identifies decisive factor in West Ham defeat to Liverpool

Liverpool recorded a 5-2 win over West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday, and all of Liverpool's first-half goals stemmed from the same source

West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo(Image: AFP or licensors)

Nuno Espirito Santo said that West Ham's inability to defend set pieces was the deciding factor in his side's defeat by Liverpool on Saturday.

The Reds won 5-2 at Anfield, but the scoreline did not reflect the balance of the game, which was very competitive.

Liverpool's first three goals all stemmed from Reds corners, as the home side racked up a three-goal lead by half-time, and it was the first half which ultimately decided the end result of the game.

"It's difficult to explain, especially the first half," Nuno told Sky Sports in a post-game interview. "We are playing well and we were in the game, had chances, we combined well and defended well until set pieces. That determined the game overall.

"It's disappointing because we've been working and there has been improvement. The players played well in the second half. We had chances to give Liverpool a lot of problems. Hopefully, it turns around and it comes our side.

"Our fans were amazing today. This is reality. There are many positive things but a lot of things we have to improve before the next one.

"No matter what, we're going to stick as a team, working for each other. We have belief and we have to keep fighting. We have been improving a lot in terms of togetherness. The boys understand the situation we are in."

Alexis Mac Allister scored for Liverpool for a second week running, and he was joined on the scoresheet by Reds teammates Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo, while the Reds' fifth and final goal was an own-goal by Axel Disasi.

Alexis Mac Allister celebrates after scoring Liverpool's third goal(Image: 2026 Liverpool FC)

Following the game, Mac Allister spoke positively after Liverpool boosted its chances of a top-five finish and Champions League qualification.

"We could have scored more, maybe they had some chances as well," he said.

"But today I prefer to be positive and see the fact that we scored five goals, which is really good.

"We know that we need to improve a couple of things, especially defensively because sometimes the gaps are too big for us, but it is what it is.

"The good thing is that we won. The gap is now smaller with Aston Villa or the teams on top. We are happy with the result and we need to keep improving."