‘This is perilous’: Shocking goal as under-pressure PL coach in danger of being sacked AGAIN

Nuno Espirito Santo’s winless start to his West Ham reign has reached four games after Leeds cruised to a 2-1 victory at Elland Road.

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Brenden Aaronson and Joe Rodon struck for Leeds in the first 15 minutes, with Mateus Fernandes’ late reply coming too late to save the lacklustre Hammers.

Second-bottom West Ham are three points from safety after seven defeats in their first nine top-flight matches this season.

Nuno has taken one point from a possible 12, with a draw at Everton in his opening match followed by defeats against Arsenal, Brentford and Leeds.

Hired to replace the sacked Graham Potter, who was only in charge of the east Londoners for eight months, Nuno has been tasked with ensuring West Ham don’t suffer a relegation that would leave them outside the top-flight for the first time since 2011-12.

But the last West Ham manager to fail to win any of his first four games in charge was Manuel Pellegrini in September 2018.

Nuno was sacked by Nottingham Forest in September after the break-down of his relationship with volatile owner Evangelos Marinakis following disagreements over the club’s transfer policy.

If the Portuguese coach doesn’t spark a quick upturn in West Ham’s fortunes, he could be in danger of suffering a second dismissal in the space of one season.

Leeds’ previous match at Elland Road ended in a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham, shattering their 23-match unbeaten run at home.

But they got back on track on home turf with a dominant performance that laid bare the extent of the problems facing Nuno.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, former West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green didn’t hold back.

“They’re in trouble. This is perilous,” he said.

“This is a moment where you can go and sink without a trace. We’ve seen in recent years that teams go on a run like this and sink without a trace.

“They’re not coming up with any answers. They’ve played two games this week. It’s a huge opportunity to get out of the bottom three and answer the critics and be positive about soimetyhing but it’s the same performance again.

“Jarrod Bowen is out again. Someone who is responsible for missing headers, for making mistakes come, for not taking responsibility, come out and say it’s your fault.

“He’s the most likely to do anything yet he’s one of many who need to stand up and realise this is a real, real problem.”

In the third minute, Noah Okafor was left unmarked by teenager Oliver Scarles for a header that was parried by Alphonse Areola towards Aaronson, who stabbed home from close-range as West Ham’s flat-footed defenders failed to react.

West Ham were in disarray and Daniel Farke’s men doubled their lead in the 15th minute.

It was a shocking goal for West Ham to concede as Lucas Paqueta’s sloppy marking allowed Rodon to rise unchecked to meet Sean Longstaff’s corner with a thumping header into the far corner from five yards.

West Ham have shipped nine goals from corners in the Premier League this season, six more than any other side.

Drenched in the ceaseless Yorkshire downpour, the bedraggled Nuno responded by sending on striker Callum Wilson to replace the injured Scarles in an admission that his formation wasn’t working.

Nuno’s luck wasn’t about to change and Paqueta had a goal disallowed by VAR for offside.

Tomas Soucek squandered a chance to give West Ham a lifeline with a wayward close-range header as boos from the travelling fans filled the air.

West Ham had never won a Premier League game when trailing by two or more goals at half-time and their 102nd attempt would be no different.

Fernandes glanced a header into the far corner from Jarrod Bowen’s cross in the 90th minute, but Leeds survived four minutes’ stoppage-time to leave the visitors marooned in the relegation zone.