Leeds 2-1 West Ham: The star who has repaid Daniel Farke's faith — Mail 24/10/25

Leeds 2-1 West Ham: The star who has repaid Daniel Farke's faith, the main issue Nuno Espirito Santo MUST solve and the Hammers man who can make a key difference

By AADAM PATEL, SPORTS REPORTER

Leeds held onto a crucial win against West Ham to move up to 13th in the table and end a run of three games without a win.

Goals from Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon in the first 15 minutes gave Daniel Farke's side the advantage and though Mateus Fernandes pulled one back in the dying stages for the Hammers, it was too little too late.

Nuno Espirito Santo is still winless since taking over from Graham Potter and his side are 19th. This is now West Ham's worst start to a season since 1973-74.

Daily Mail Sport's AADAM PATEL was at Elland Road to run the rule over Leeds and the Hammers.

Fortress Elland Road

The next time that these two sides are scheduled to meet is the last game of the season. It's still early doors but judging by the sheer feebleness of this West Ham display, it would not be a surprise to see them relegated to the Championship come May. Nuno is winless in four and West Ham have just four points in nine games. 'The only way this will change is if we step up and show some fight,' said Jarrod Bowen.

'We need more of that. It's easy to hide and be scared. It's easier said and harder to do sometimes. Roll your sleeves up and dig in. No one will give this to us. We're in a real situation and we have to face the reality of that. You have to face up to the reality of where we are and we're in trouble now,' the Hammers skipper added.

For Leeds, this was the kind of display they needed with Farke's side ruthless early on after their wastefulness in recent weeks. They should have finished the game off but again, Leeds showed why Elland Road will be one of the toughest grounds to visit in the top-flight. Spurs remain the only team to win here this season.

Worse than shocking

After their defeat by Brentford, Jamie Carragher described West Ham as 'shocking' and one of the 'slowest' teams he'd seen in Premier League history. Shocking would have been an understatement to describe their start here.

After a questionable team selection from Nuno, with the right-footed Aaron Wan-Bissaka at left-back, left-footed Ollie Scarles at right-back and no recognisable centre-forward, the Hammers started off embarrassingly. 'We started very badly,' Nuno admitted. 'So many things concern me – our approach to individual duels, our confidence. I'm worried since I came but we embrace the challenge ahead of us,' he added. His side failed to do the basics in terms of defending balls coming into the box.

West Ham have conceded nine goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.

Chants from the away end of 'Sack the Board' were a constant all evening and their plight was summed up when academy graduate Scarles was forced off with what looked like a dislocated shoulder in the 25th minute. The 19-year-old was hooked off at half-time on Monday and now faces an extended period on the sidelines.

Defensively solid again

There was an air of nervousness around Elland Road pre-match with Leeds winless in three but Farke insisted he was calm and relaxed about their situation and the Leeds boss was proactive with his team selection, making four changes from the side that lost at Burnley.

One of their main issues this season has been going behind in six of their first eight games and giving themselves a mountain to climb but Leeds raced out of the blocks here. There were impressive performances too from keeper Lucas Perri on his return and Jaka Bijol, who made his Premier League debut after signing from Udinese for £15million in the summer. While Ao Tanaka came in for Anton Stach and put in a reliably solid shift. One slight dampener was seeing Noah Okafor forced off at half-time but all in all, this was a hugely encouraging display.

'It was a difficult week for us,' said Farke. 'You could feel it. We showed passion and bravery. It's a priceless three points.'

Whites' attacking gem

With Dan James on the bench and Willy Gnonto still injured, Brenden Aaronson was again given the nod to start down the right. Going into this, Aaronson had only one goal and three assists to show across 44 games and 2,847 minutes of Premier League football, averaging a goal involvement every 712 minutes.

But it took the American just three minutes to get on the scoresheet here - in a week where he celebrated his 25th birthday - with a simple tap in after Alphonse Areola parried Okafor's header. The defending from West Ham was woeful but the goal did Aaronson's confidence a world of good, especially after his miss at Turf Moor last Saturday.

He nearly added a second after the break with a dazzling run, picking the ball up in his own half and going past Tomas Soucek and Paqueta before his effort bounced off the bar. Farke has often cited Aaronson's defensive contributions by praising his work rate but here was a timely reminder that he will be an asset for Leeds if he can deliver in the final third.

'I have been working hard at it and last week I got unlucky with one but that is how football is. I am proud of myself,' said Aaronson.

Wilson still struggles for minute

From the moment Nuno named a starting eleven without a recognised striker, eyebrows were raised. He got his team wrong and West Ham were an improved side once Callum Wilson came on for his first minutes under the Nuno and they shifted into a 4-2-3-1.

Still, the lack of quality is alarming with the Hammers barely creating any chances of note until the latter stages of the second half. El Hadji Malick Diouf's backheel which went straight out for a throw in summed up just how out of sync they were.

Right now, this is a team relying on the individual quality of the likes of Bowen and Lucas Paqueta. Even when Nuno made further changes after the break, throwing on Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes, West Ham never looked like scoring until a late consolation that came after a wonderful delivery from Bowen and a fine header from Fernandes. In the end, it counted for nothing.