West Ham United boss Nuno Espírito Santo has finally addressed the elephant in the room — the dramatic energy drop-off that saw his side surrender a 2–0 lead against Chelsea.

It was obvious from the moment Chelsea scored their first goal at Stamford Bridge. Workaholic forward Pablo had emptied the tank and was powerless to close down the opposition. Fatigue crept in, the high press disappeared, and West Ham were forced deeper and deeper.

From there, Nuno had little choice but to make changes.

Unfortunately, those alterations failed. The Hammers conceded twice more, finishing the game with a knackered side completely devoid of energy.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s massive clash with Burnley, Espírito Santo admitted exactly what everyone in claret and blue could already see.

“We spent a lot of energy pressing high in the game, and playing so well offensively, and after about 55–60 minutes we felt that energy getting away.
We tried to rebalance the team with an extra body and it didn’t work out, so the challenge is to keep the standards throughout the whole match.”

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