Sometimes, all that is required is an easy answer. Such as the one Nuno Espirito Santo gave when asked to explain Crysencio Summerville’s suddenly free-scoring ways following West Ham United’s beating of Sunderland.
Having gone 25 games without a goal in all competitions, the £30 million signing from Leeds now has three in three.
It arguably should be four in four, too, with any frustration Crysencio Summerville felt after seeing his fizzing volley ruled out against Nottingham Forest three weeks ago channeled into his best run of form in a West Ham United jersey.
Safety is in sight 😍 Who was your MOTM?!
Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell – CameraSport
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Even Alan Shearer would have been proud of the bullet header which gave the Hammers the lead against the Black Cats. The Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer watched on in awe as the 5ft 9ins Summerville hung in the air like Alex Honnold on a Taiwan skyscraper before thumping a Jarrod Bowen cross past Robin Roefs.
And, after West Ham saw off high-flying Sunderland in surprisingly emphatic fashion, Nuno Espirito Santo was asked to explain why a winger who had not scored in 14 months suddenly cannot stop putting his name up in lights.
Nuno Espirito Santo explains Crysencio Summerville turnaround at West Ham United
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
There was no Eureka moment from Nuno and his coaching staff, it seems. Not some novel and bright idea hurriedly scrawled down on the corner of a restaurant napkin.
Instead, Nuno’s instructions were as simple as telling Summerville and co to get into the box more. Make your own luck. Get in the right positions, and let your teammates do the rest as Bowen did on Saturday, as Soungoutou Magassa did against Queens Park Rangers and as Mateus Fernandes did against Tottenham Hotspur.
“It’s important for our forward players to get confidence by scoring,” Nuno said. “But the important part is that we are getting bodies in the box, creating trouble to our opponents. Asking them questions, how to solve our combinations.
“But there’s still a lot of improvement to be made.”
Jermain Defoe labels Summerville the Man of the Match against Sunderland
Mateus Fernandes ran the show, capping a supreme display with a thunderbolt finish as West Ham stormed into a 3-0 half-time lead. Jarrod Bowen produced his most threatening display in some time as well, while Tomas Soucek justified his inclusion ahead of Freddie Potts and the aforementioned Magassa.
But Jermain Defoe could not look past Summerville when selecting the game’s outstanding performer.
“It has been a long time coming to get this level of performance for West Ham. That is what this team can do,” Defoe, who represented both clubs in a fine top-flight career, told Premier League Productions. “Summerville was the best player on the pitch.
“Back-to-back wins is huge and puts pressure on the teams ahead of them. That is the level now.“
How many points would West Ham have taken from their last two games if Lucas Paqueta had been playing? 🤔
Maybe I’m harsh, but I just don’t think he suits this team anymore…
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Nuno hopes to reel in Nottingham Forest ahead of Chelsea trip
Specifically, Nottingham Forest.
Should Sean Dyche’s team lose at Brentford on Sunday afternoon – which is eminently possible, given the very contrasting form of both sides – then West Ham will go into matchday 24 only two points behind Forest in 17th.
“You know that football is [in] the present,” adds Nuno, reluctant to let his mind wander to next week’s trip to Stamford Bridge. “What we did today was great. Let’s have a good weekend and prepare for the next one. It’s going to be very tough [at Chelsea], but we’re going to put up a fight.
“In the first half [vs Sunderland], we started really well. The momentum, the energy that the boys put in, the connections, the combinations. We scored, we had good spells of football [and were] dominant in terms of defence.
“And it was a big improvement in the second-half in terms of managing the game, managing the tempo of the game. We didn’t allow too many situations. They scored [Brian Brobbey pulled one back just after the hour mark] but didn’t go crazy.
“We kept the shape, kept organised. And in the second half, [we drew strength from] the support of the fans, realising that we were in trouble, that we needed energy. When we give, they give back 1,000 times more.
“So overall, it was a very good performance.”
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