New data surrounding Swansea City makes West Ham’s 1-0 victory in South Wales look even better than it did at the time.
Swansea are not simply a team who happened to be top of the Championship. Under Vítor Matos, they have become one of the most aggressive pressing sides in the division.
According to The Times, Swansea’s PPDA figure of 10.5 is the third-lowest in the Championship. They have also recorded 86 high turnovers — the second-highest total in the league.
Yet West Ham went to their ground, scored and restricted the league leaders to no shots on target.
That suggests this was not merely a fortunate backs-to-the-wall away win. Nuno Espírito Santo got his tactics absolutely spot on.
Nuno Unleashed West Ham’s Dogs Of War
Nuno opted for his dogs of war in Mohamadou Kanté and Pablo. Their relentless energy and willingness to run gave Swansea no peace when they attempted to play out from the back.
The winning goal perfectly demonstrated the plan. Pablo’s pressure forced the mistake, Kanté drove into the penalty area and Divine Mukasa finished the move.
Pablo may not score enough goals, but his contribution here was crucial. West Ham required someone prepared to chase, press and disrupt, and the Brazilian Portugeezer carried out that role superbly.
Despite scoring, I thought Mukasa and much of the West Ham midfield were almost bypassed for long periods.
Nuno clearly wanted his team to play more directly, hit his runners and target man early, and avoid becoming trapped by Swansea’s press. It was not particularly pretty, but it was extremely effective.
As I wrote after the match, the West Ham promotion numbers have taken off, and performances such as this are precisely why.
Pablo was effective in pressing the Swans defenders
Nuno Shows His Pragmatic Side
What is becoming increasingly clear is that Nuno is a pragmatist. He will not send West Ham out with one fixed tactical approach regardless of the opposition.
Against Swansea, he decided that pressing their defence was the best way to win.
Compare that with the draw against QPR, when West Ham were clearly under instructions not to press at all. Rangers goalkeeper Pierce Charles was allowed to have the ball virtually unopposed.
That approach frustrated the hell out of me, but the contrast tells us something important. NES is prepared to completely alter the plan depending on the opposition.
The possibility of a tactical switch was raised before the Swansea game, and the manager duly delivered one.
Managers are ultimately judged by whether those decisions work. At Swansea, against the Championship leaders and one of the division’s best-organised pressing teams, Nuno comprehensively won the tactical battle.
The longer the result sits with me, the more impressive it becomes.