Premier LeagueLeeds United 2-1 West Ham United
Saturday, 25th October 2025
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread
Another atrocious performance from West Ham saw them beaten comfortably by Leeds United on Friday evening. A disastrous opening 15 minutes saw the home side score twice and take the game away from The Hammers entirely, as Nuno Espirito Santo's team wilted under the lights at Elland Road.
The manager again made confused and outright harmful decisions, desperate to shake things up but only making things worse as his side flailed harmlessly and were easily bullied in what was an early season six-pointer in what is clearly a relegation battle.Two poorly defended crosses, with another headed goal from a corner, were enough to breach the defences and give Leeds a two-goal lead in the first half that was never threatened.
In the pouring Yorkshire rain, The Hammers attempted a 4-4-2 and found themselves completely overrun in midfield, with Irving and Soucek looking off the pace in every minute they played. Nuno brought Diouf and Wan-Bissaka back into the team, replacing Walker-Peters and Fernandes as Diouf went left wing and the manager persisted with the inverted full backs of Scarles and Wan-Bissaka. Summerville took a start on the right, and Bowen was moved up front, but to partner with Paqueta.
It was not a line-up that inspired hope, but those optimistic fools who had some were quickly reminded of the team they support as Leeds took the lead from their first attack, three minutes in.
All the problems of a slow and lacking midfield were laid to bare as Ampadu took the ball from inside his own half and pushed through the middle of the park. The midfield may as well have parted, so comfortably did he saunter through, and it was easy for him to then move it square as Leeds were now 30 yards from goal.
It was moved on once more to Bogle out wide right, and in space to cross. His ball to the far post was too easily won by Okafor, who stepped away from Scarles and met it with his head to power a header low at Areola. The Frenchman parried, but not wide enough to find safety.
Aaronson reacted first as Wan-Bissaka stood stationary, getting there to poke it home from a few yards and give a nervous Elland Road a reason to erupt.
As the players pointed fingers, they may well have turned towards their manager. The midfield was outnumbered and outpaced, leaving the backline completely unprotected, whilst there's a chance both full backs would have reacted quicker and better were they playing in the positions and sides they are comfortable in.
The West Ham fans responded, making the target of their anger clear, as "sack the board" chants rang out loudly from the away end.
It was hard to see what effect the changes to the team were meant to have made. With two roaming up front, it was harder to pick passes into and through the middle. Diouf and Summerville both found going hard on the wing, the Dutch winger used to the space afforded to cut inside, Diouf more useful arriving later or bursting from deep into space, rather than creating it when stood up by a defender.
There was only one time it looked to work, and only by the grace of Jarrod Bowen. Summerville squeezed a cross in having made it to the byline, and Paqueta got enough on it to head the ball back into the middle from the far post.
It was behind Bowen, but the captain went for the spectacular, throwing himself into the air and getting horizontal to produce an acrobatic volley that powered off his left boot. Unfortunately for him, his effort lacked placement to match that power, flying straight at Perri in the Leeds goal and was palmed away.
The Hammers could build nothing from it, and were soon punished for their meekness as Leeds doubled the lead in the 15th minute. Nothing special, nothing even that surprising, a corner from their left was curled inwards and just outside the six-yard box, where Joe Rodon had sprung away from his marker, Paqueta, and met the ball around eight yards out, centre of goal, and doubled his side's lead as he headed into the bottom corner and West Ham conceded from a corner once again.
As play resumed, it was the West Ham fans you could hear, and the travelling support were sending their message. "You're not fit to wear the shirt" echoed out, and you could argue they've shown incredible patience in waiting this long to sing that this season.
Callum Wilson got up to get warm and ready, and it seemed Ollie Scarles was to be dragged off as Nuno once again had to give up on a foolish starting line-up, and his inverted full backs in particular.
Then the young academy graduate went down after a strong challenge, and was treated on the pitch for over five minutes for what appeared to be a shoulder injury from his fall. It gave the manager a chance to make the change without hurting the young man's pride, although he may have rather that than the injury he received.
Wilson came on, and Nuno reshuffled. He kept Paqueta up top, but moved Bowen to the right and Summerville to the left, as well as Wan-Bissaka on the right and Diouf back at left back. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't quite as magnificently stupid as how he had started.
The bigger problem remained in the middle, where Soucek and Irving struggled to function at anything close to an acceptable Premier League standard. If Monday night had not been enough, then this Friday horror show, bringing Halloween early a week, should be the final nail in the coffin of Andy Irving as a West Ham starter. A hardworking and determined character he may be, but he offers very little outside of being able to make some pretty passes with his left foot.
Soucek, equally, is a diminished force from the player he was under David Moyes in those glory years. He made no tackles or interceptions, missed one glorious headed chance, and the side conceded from two crosses into the box. His rudimentary passing also sees him dump long balls into the channel, which he is asking Wilson and Paqueta to chase.
Ampadu and Tanaka both exposed how horribly weak and pedestrian the pair were, each finding joy when carrying the ball forward and able to sprint away at snail's pace from two in claret and blue who were somehow slower.
With a bit of composure, Tanaka may have made it three after 30 minutes, waltzing through midfield and feeding Calvert-Lewin wide, and then finding that nobody was following him as he carried on forward and received from the striker on the edge of the box, only to blaze over from 20 yards.
A minute later, Kilman probably saved his side from conceding a third, as a low ball from the left was on a plate for Aaronson to tuck another one home, only for the centre back's challenge halting him in his tracks.
Paqueta had the ball in the back of the net soon after, only for the flag to eventually go up. After Bowen took the ball in from the right and slipped it down the right side of the box, Paqueta backheeled and Wilson challenged with Bogle.
It bounced away from them both, dropping in front of Paqueta, who hit the ball on the half-volley against the underside of the bar and into the back of the net. He looked offside, and whilst it somehow took a few minutes to work that out, the goal was ruled out.
Bowen dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box, and then Ampadu went up the other end, running away from Irving at a shockingly slow speed, but his curled effort went a long way wide.
13 minutes were added on, and West Ham suddenly seemed able to get on the ball. What had changed? Paqyeta was suddenly in midfield, and now The Hammers not only had enough players in there to match their opponents, they also found a player who could move, pass and spot the movement of other players.
It didn't solve all their problems, and Leeds had chances in stoppage time. Okafor twisted Todibo all ends up as he darted in off the wing and towards the box, only to curl wide going for the far post, and Bogle forced a smart stop from Areola after getting behind Diouf, but the half should have been capped off by a surprise West Ham goal.
It was Bowen creating, darting down the right and clipping a ball into the box. Soucek had ghosted in, now able to push forward with Paqueta having dropped into midfield, and he met the header from six yards out, only to head wide under a challenge. It was the kind of chance he had made his name on over the years.
The half ended at 2-0, with the way all of West Ham's play had gone through Paqueta at the end making a mockery of his manager's decision to play a midfield two and pair Paqueta up top.
It was another poor first half under Nuno, but he kept the same players on the field for the second half. Leeds were comfortable, sitting in shape and waiting to pounce, waiting for the inevitable mistakes.
Not that life was hard for them on the ball, either. Aaronson exposed the whole team with a run from inside his own half. He skipped past Paqueta, Irving and Soucek to find himself charging towards the West Ham box. 20 yards out, he took on the shot, which deflected off a defender and smacked the bar, with Areola only able to watch gratefully as it bounced away.
20 minutes into the half, the ball might have been with The Hammers more, but Leeds had taken four shots, West Ham hadn't had a shot at all.
The manager saw to make changes, and it was the midfield that finally got the surgery required. Potts and Fernandes entered, Irving and Soucek departed, and West Ham finally arrived in 2025 with a midfield that could match the pace, movement and ability on the ball of their competitors. Unfortunately, it was 65 minutes too late to matter.
Still, it was so much better to watch with the two young midfielders on the pitch. Potts oozed class, shielding the defence and keeping the ball moving quickly. His 30 minutes on the pitch saw 36 passes, four more than Soucek made in 64 minutes.
Fernandes was the link between, dropping back when required, but looking and moving forward. A clever little dink through to Wilson could have earned much more, had the striker any pace left.
The Hammers were pushing now, although struggling to create. Walker-Peters and Magassa replaced Wan-Bissaka and Summerville with 10 minutes to go, the manager using all his subs with his final roll of the dice. It just didn't really work. Not until the 90th-minute did they make anything happen, and somehow they scored.
Bowen received the ball out wide, cut back onto his left foot and curled a ball towards goal. It flew at Fernandes, who deftly flicked it on from 12 yards out, doing just enough to keep it away from the goalkeeper, yet keep it inside the posts, and the midfielder gave West Ham a lifeline with his first goal for the club.
It was not one they could do anything with, putting Leeds under no pressure as they faffed and flopped when it seemed they might have some impetus. Instead, Fernandes's goal was a footnote on another sad defeat, a club so lifeless it looks relegated already, in October. With one goal this month, and no points, Halloween has lasted a long time in East London, but the horrors look set to continue.
Manager's Rating
Nuno Espirito Santo: 3/10 It was not worse than Monday. It was not much better, and it is hard to look past the manager as his confusing decisions failed him and his team once again. The midfield pair were laughable, the front two didn't work and left the midfield outnumbered for it, the inverted full backs were such a flop that they cost a goal, the set-piece problems are as bad as ever. The team created almost nothing, the changes took too long, and his assessment of the team and squad seems to be fatally flawed. Looking at the fixtures before Christmas, he may not win a game.
He needs to learn from what worked, which was a three-man midfield, and the younger and more mobile players. If he doesn't, he won't be relegated with this side, because he'll have had his marching orders long before it.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Leeds United 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 AreolaMakes the saves you expect him to make, but might need to start coming for crosses or he is going to concede from a corner every game.
Ollie Scarles
The state of shock he appeared in on Monday continued into this game, and he was too easily lost at the back post for the opener.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
It's a little harsh to blame him on the first goal, Aaronson reacted a touch quicker and exposed the lack of reaction in the West Ham defence. Had no business being at left back and instantly improved on the right.
Jean-Clair Todibo
The man is not a Premier League defender. A weakness in the basics like he has, with a lack of discipline and no aerial presence, will be exposed ruthlessly, and they have been since returning to the team on Monday night.
Max Kilman
The lesser of two evils at centre back, but by no means absolved. He makes at least one good contribution a game, but is meek, weak, and easily beaten in the air.
Andy Irving
He has a lovely left foot. Put him under little pressure, give him time, he'll pick out a nice floaty pass to the wide areas. That's all he offers.
Tomas Soucek
If his time as a top-level footballer hasn't passed, then it is just a pairing with Irving that makes it look so. With power and physicality back to being a common trait in Premier League midfields, Soucek is no longer getting away with having that as his selling point, because his peers also have a good first touch, can pass, or can carry the ball.
El Hadji Malick Diouf
Looked confused and lost as a winger, never really got going as a left back. Tried six crosses, never found a West Ham player.
Crysencio Summerville
Does nice things in ineffective areas, but does not threaten goal enough. He was not helped by a move to the right, which seemed to limit his running space, but failed to shine on the left, either. Looked to be rattled by a crowd that welcomed him back with boos and jeers.
Lucas Paqueta
He wasn't too effective, but he had determination and tried to get things moving. The difference in the midfield with and without him was staggering, and only underlined the feeling he is not the problem. Lost his man for the second goal, but there is also a big problem with nobody attacking the ball.
Jarrod Bowen
It didn't work with him up front, but that should not be that idea put to bed. It just cannot be in a front two, the midfield was so easily exposed and there was no service forward. Made a few things happen from wide right, got the assist, and just needs a few players on his level, because no man can drag this team along alone.
Substitutes
Callum Wilson(Scarles 25') He has no pace and cannot hold the ball up, so is in the team entirely based on striker's instinct, which is not enough to lead the line.
Freddie Potts
(Irving 65') The cameo was hopeful, with movement and clever zip to his play, just plugging gaps behind the midfield as they pushed forward to try force something. He can run above walking pace, which makes him a revelation compared to the two who started.
Mateus Fernandes
(Soucek 65') Similarly to Potts, he got around the pitch and did so with speed, looking up, comfortable creating and comfortable spotting danger and snuffing it out. The dart into the box and header was clever. For a 25-minute cameo, that was excellent.
Soungoutou Magassa
(Summerville 78') His cameo saw him make the most tackles of any West Ham player across the whole game.
Kyle Walker-Peters
(Wan-Bissaka 78') Wanted to go forward, wanted to be positive, and at least never lost possession with his passing.
Mads Hermansen
Did not play.
Julio Igor
Did not play.
Guido Rodriguez
Did not play.
Callum Marshall
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Ollie Scarles, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, Andy Irving, Tomas Soucek, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Crysencio Summerville, Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen.Goals: Mateus Fernandes 90 0 .
Booked: Crysencio Summerville 0 Lucas Paqueta 0 Jean-Clair Todibo 0 .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Leeds United: Perri, Bogle, Rodon, Bijol, Gudmundsson (Justin 44), Ampadu (c), Longstaff, Tanaka (Gruev 72), Aaronson (James 87), Okafor (Harrison HT), Calvert-Lewin (Nmecha 87).
Subs not used: Darlow, Struijk, Stach, Piroe.
Goals: Aaronson (3), Rodon (15).
Booked: Gruev, Perri, Justin.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Stuart Attwell.
Attendance: 36,788.
Man of the Match: Mateus Fernandes.