Premier LeagueWest Ham United 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Sunday, 18th May 2025
by Chris Wilkerson
West Ham United were beaten in their final home game of a dreadful season, a 2-1 defeat putting an end to a miserable campaign at the London stadium which equalled the club's worst ever record at home in the Premier League.
Starting unchanged from the team that beat Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend, a promising start was deflated by a silly error from Areola, and it took until the final 10 minutes for The Hammers to put their visitors under any real pressure.A wonderful Bowen goal with four minutes remaining led to a hectic finish, but it was not enough to earn a point against a Nottingham Forest side so desperate for the points in a bid for a shot at Champions League football this year that their antics began to embarrass themselves to run the game down.
West Ham finish on 20 points at home this season, losing nine times and winning only five.
On a day most notable for goodbyes to Coufal, Cresswell and Fabianski, West Ham were looking to not only confirm their place ahead of Manchester United and Tottenham in the league, but secure the three points that could take them above Wolves into 14th.
Coufal and Cresswell got their farewell starts in the unchanged side, and the Czech full bac nearly crowned it with an early assist.
A typical Coufal cross from the right looped to his mate Soucek in the box, and the big midfielder rose high to head at goal from 12 yards out. It sailed high, and Sels was at full stretch to his left to tip it over the bar. Todibo met the corner at the front post, but could only glance it across the face of goal and wide.
In a blistering start to the game, it was only a few minutes later that Gibbs-White should have opened the scoring, reacting well to a long throw from the right to get an effort on goal. The ball flicked off the head of Coufal in the box and found Gibbs-White at the far post, six yards out. He took it on the chest and volleyed at goal, but his powerful, low hit was a bit too close to Areola, who threw himself down fast and made a good reaction save, deflecting it clear.
A minute later, Coufal was exciting the home fans with a deflected effort that forced Sels into a smart save at his near post, and then Wood hammered a drive from 25 yards out that forced Areola into a good save to his left rounded out the opening 10 minutes of action.
Unfortunately, the away side were given an easy chance to take by West Ham's own poor play, and it was here they took the lead on 11 minutes.
Areola had possession on his six-yard line, on the right side of goal. With Forest pressing high, the goalkeeper dallied and then tried a cute little pass around the into the feet of Rodriguez.
It was short of the midfielder, and easy for Gibbs-White to take, touch forward and then pass into the opposite corner to Areola, who scrambled back to his goal but couldn't get near the shot.
That made it 21 games in which The Hammers have fallen behind this season, and they have yet to win in any of these fixtures.
The promising start was quickly lost, and the rest of the half was plenty of possession with absolutely no threat. The closest they came was still calamitous. Kudus hitting a ball across the face of goal that looked to have gone out, and indeed had, ended with Bowen stumbling and falling into the post, cracking his face against it. The Nottingham Forest players were quick to call for medical assistance, the incident last week with Awoniyi fresh in their minds, but thankfully the West Ham captain was fine to continue, albeit with a lump of Vaseline on his eyebrow to stop a cut bleeding.
Forest were comfortable, happy to cede possession to West Ham and play on the counter, with Gibbs-White playing wonderfully in pulling the strings, Wood leading the line, and the frightening pace of Elanga joining him on the counters.
The big Kiwi striker came close from a corner when peeling away to the far post, losing Coufal and heading down from an angle, six yards out. His effort skipped up off the turf and against the post as West Ham survived.
The Hammers were working hard to get nowhere. Soucek became a passenger, driving forward for no service, and then left behind by the pace of Forest's direct football on the transition. A system that had worked well at Manchester United was having little success against a much better and much different team.
That being said, it was Areola's error that was the difference as the two sides went in 1-0 at half-time. It is little surprise that the confidence slowly gained by improving performances and a win against Manchester United was demolished by handing Nottingham Forest the opening goal. The players will know their record from 1-0 down, and it clearly was hanging over them from the moment Gibbs-White put Nottingham Forest ahead.
From the beginning of the second half, the visitors were trying to see the game out, slowing it down and wasting time whenever possible. Their ambition was to protect their lead and frustrate West Ham any way they could.
There was little report until a Coufal volley dipped just over the bar. The crowd were probably more interested in Cresswell and Coufal scoring than the result of the match, and the right back got the fans off their feet. Kudus crossed from the left to the far corner of the Forest box, where Coufal took it on the chest and then volleyed the dropping ball at goal, landing on the roof of the net. A little more dip may have finally got Coufal his goal.
The manager took the first 15 minutes in and then made big changes, a quadruple change. On came Soler, Paqueta, Fullkrug and Alvarez for Ward-Prowse, Rodriguez, Soucek and Cresswell. There was a standing ovation for Cresswell, 11 years of service met with the appreciation it deserved, as the stadium announcer belted his name out one last time after all the substitutions were completed.
The Hammers had moved into a back four, but whatever change Potter was looking to make, his plans were instantly ruined by a second Forest goal.
Todibo was exposed down the right channel, Elanga beating him to a ball down the line, then running at and past him on the wide side of the box, the Frenchman bringing him down.
Elanga got up to take the freekick and curled it viciously at goal, flat and with fire into the area. The ball looked aimed at the far corner, and went through the crowded box and off the inside of the far post. Replays showed it skimming off the back of central defender Milenkovic, and it was just enough to move it from wide of the post to inside it, and enough to give the visitors a vital two-goal lead as they looked to keep their chances of Champions League football alive.
What followed was over six minutes of farce as VAR looked again and again at the footage to decide whether a leading leg was offside, and whether it even mattered. The semi-automated system failed to work when dealing with such a melee of bodies in the box, and then the officials had to work out who the leg belonged to.
Once deciding it was Dominguez in front of Milenkovic, and that the touch had come from the centre back, not his teammate, they then replayed the incident to see whether they believed Dominguez was interfering with play.
Certainly, it was hard to decide what really constituted interference. You couldn't say he really went for the ball, but he also put himself in position to get on the end of it. Once you're approaching seven minutes, and you can't prove a reason it should not be a goal, it becomes a farce.
Suddenly, West Ham's changes to try and find that equaliser were now changes that had to reverse a two-goal deficit with zero momentum behind them.
The Hammers started to push forward with more intensity going into the final 20 minutes of standard time. Soler and Paqueta both made an impact. The Spaniard created a chance for himself with some great body movement on the edge of the box, shifting one way and then back again to send the defence the wrong direction, but could only earn a corner off a fine Sels save with his effort on goal.
It was the final change that made the most difference. The young Brazilian Luis Guilherme came on, and the impact he has made from the bench under Potter has resurrected his West Ham career.
Again, here, he was direct and confident, beating men at pace, combining for quick give-and-go passes to add a different dimension to the West Ham threat. Suddenly, space was opening up as players were beaten in midfield.
He beat two through the middle to poke forward to Fullkrug, and the German eventually went left to Soler, who squared into the box for Guilherme's continued run, only for his shot to be blocked en route to goal. Had Fullkrug passed quicker, rather than delaying a few seconds under little pressure, both players ahead of him would have had more space and less defensive company.
In the end, it was a bad ball and some individual brilliance from Jarrod Bowen that got West Ham back into the game.
Paqueta dinked a ball into the box, but onto the head of Morato. The centre back, on for a few minutes, failed to clear, just heading towards Bowen.
The captain flicked a leg out behind him as it went by and it looped up into the air. He let it drop, and then fired a scorching volley across the goal to Sels right and right into the top corner.
In the two games since West Ham opened the voting for their goal of the season, Soucek and Bowen have eclipsed any on the list.
There was a little bit of panic from the visitors now, and with it came more antics. A weak referee did not help, failing to stomp out the silliness and allowing dives and rolling, performative injuries to stop play from flowing.
With all the VAR delays and substitutions, the stoppage time stretched to 17 minutes. 101 minutes on the clock and the Irons had their late chance.
Soler curled a corner outward to the penalty spot and nobody raised as high or as powerfully as Fullkrug. His header flew at goal, but all that power needed a little guidance, instead of at Sels, who threw up a hand and made a save to keep his side's lead intact.
It was cleared, Paqueta was pulled to the ground outside the box, and the referee let it go. Paqueta didn't, rising up to shove Murillo and starting a bundle as players from both sides got involved and pushed each other around like school kids. Four bookings, two for each side, were the result, and soon the final whistle was blown to end West Ham's home campaign.
It has been a season to forget, particularly at home, with the key memories of the season away from the athletics track. It was certainly nice to see Cresswell and Coufal run out one last time in front of the home fans, but this was another limp home performance.
The team from last week were kept, and that was probably good for the morale in the squad. But it did not work here, against a team without the scent of death on them like Manchester United were, and West Ham have not had many performances worth watching this season when any impetus is on them to dictate the play of the game.
A summer of change has rarely been needed more, it just remains to be seen how much can truly be accomplished. It will dictate the way next season goes.
Manager's Rating
Graham Potter: 5/10 No blame on him for keeping a winning team considering how the side have played this season, but it was a gamble that did not pay off against very different opponents to Manchester United. The changes were unfortunate in timing, but the flat performance of the first half probably required change earlier anyway, so that bad luck might be punishment he earned.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Nottingham Forest match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Alphonse AreolaHis 100th West Ham game, and one to forget. His lack of ability on the ball feels like it will be a real problem under Potter, and the goal in this game was a prime example.
Vladimir Coufal
Created a couple chances with his crossing and even threatened goal. It is sad to see him go, one of the best value for money signings in West Ham history.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Named HOTY before play, rightly so, and had a decent game, but it would have been better had he been on the side of Elanga, with Forest not really playing a classic left-sided attacking player to attack on his side.
Aaron Cresswell
Cresswell has arguably become West Ham's best left back of the Premier League era, and the way he has ended this season makes it a surprise he's being let go. He has played well in that wide centre back role in the past, and the defence has been clearly improved when he plays.
Jean-Clair Todibo
Too easily beaten by Elanga on the second goal. He's had a 6/10 first season in England, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him signed due to his obligation and then moved on.
Max Kilman
The end of a very difficult first season for Kilman, who has struggled to live with that ??40m+ price tag.
James Ward-Prowse
The midfield was fine without being particularly good, unable to pick passes through Forest or move it forward quickly enough.
Guido Rodriguez
Had no real influence on the game and maybe should have been quicker to Areola's pass that Elanga took.
Tomas Soucek
Looked lost after his early header. Forest attacked fast and Soucek couldn't influence defensively either.
Jarrod Bowen
Wasn't shining but took his goal with incredible skill. He has had a fine season amongst an awful one for his club, but looks frustrated by what's around him right now.
Mohammed Kudus
He couldn't quite get into things, struggling on that left side and with a team that were happy to settle into deep defensive positions, making space for him to expose when beating players at a real minimum.
Substitutes
Niclas Fullkrug(Soucek 59') One good header aside, he looked off the pace and used the ball too slowly.
Carlos Soler
(Ward-Prowse 59') A lively performance, the Spaniard sped up his side's play and arguably will leave the London Stadium with his best showing.
Lucas Paqueta
(Cresswell 59') Desperately needed a forward passer who would take some risks. He did that, battled in and tried to think forward quickly.
Edson Alvarez
(Rodriguez 59') A lot of headless running. Had Forest scored before he came on, he probably wouldn't have come on at all. It was a change to offer some stability at the base of midfield at 1-0, not chase a game two goals down.
Luis Guilherme
(Kudus 80') The best of the subs, he drove forward with the ball and worked well in tight areas, opening the game up with his direct dribbling. Improves with every showing.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Aaron Cresswell, Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, James Ward-Prowse, Guido Rodriguez, Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus.Goals: None.
Booked: None booked. .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Nottingham Forest: .
Subs not used: .
Goals: .
Booked: None booked..
Sent off: None.
Referee: .
Attendance: 0.
Man of the Match: .