While Nottingham Forest might have been smelling the chance to claim an immediate response on Sunday afternoon, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side suffered a sensational late collapse as they eventually fell to a 3-0 drumming at home against West Ham.
With golden opportunities coming at a real premium on either side of the interval, it was skipper Jarrod Bowen who opened the scoring with just six minutes left on the clock.
In what quickly became a remarkable last-gasp flurry, Lucas Paqueta converted from the penalty spot just four minutes after Bowen’s opener and then produced an emotional celebration following extensive links to Aston Villa over the past 24 hours.
Graham Potter’s men eventually clinched a maiden Premier League victory of the season as summer recruit Callum Wilson headed home and sent Sunday’s travelling support into overdrive.
Claiming a shock scalp outside of the English capital, West Ham will certainly feel that the first international break of the season has come at the worst possible time.
As for Forest, despite opening the 2025/26 campaign with an emphatic 3-1 victory against Brentford earlier in the month, the European returners have largely flattered to deceive on either side of the summer break.
On an afternoon when they Hammers sprung a stellar upset at the City Ground, we have taken a look at the main talking points from Sunday’s showdown.
The Hammers finally click into gear
Getting proceedings underway with a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Premier League returners Sunderland on August 16th, West Ham have rightfully come under a tremendous amount of scrutiny over the past few weeks.
Completely blown away at the London Stadium last weekend as they fell to an infamous 5-1 defeat against historic local rivals Chelsea, it is no secret that Potter has had a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders.
Crashing out of the EFL Cup earlier in the week following a rollercoaster 3-2 loss away at fellow strugglers Wolves, Sunday’s guests had lost each of their first three matchups across all competitions by an aggregate score of 11-3.
However, despite being pencilled in as a landslide underdog when they turned their attention back to Premier League duties here, the Hammers produced what could prove to be a season-defining late flurry.
Finally clinching into gear and expected to be active during Monday’s Deadline Day, both West Ham and Potter have set themselves a benchmark set going forward after September’s international break.
A nightmare afternoon for Forest
With their iconic Europa League adventure set to get underway in a few weeks time and getting the 2025/26 campaign underway with a 3-1 victory against Brentford on August 17th, it appeared the mood in Nottingham Forest’s camp was at a red-hot high.
However, despite clinching an opening weekend victory at the City Ground, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have come crashing back down to earth and there has been plenty of question marks over Santo’s long-term future.
Speaking publicly about his dwindling relationship with club owner Evangelos Marinakis last week, the former Wolves boss appears to have some mounting issues to deal with both on the pitch and behind the scenes.
Suffering a remarkable late collapse here and getting hit with a first home defeat against West Ham since way back in 2011, Forest have now shown some real issues on either side of the summer interval.
Along with failing to win any of their seven pre-season appearances over the summer, Santo’s inconsistent squad have also won just a pair of their previous nine Premier League showdowns continuing on from last year.
Paqueta steals all the headlines
While Matheus Fernandes might have been making his West Ham debut on Sunday afternoon having only joined from Southampton not even 48 hours prior following a reported £40million deal with Southampton, it was another midfield star who stole all of the attention here.
With Potter’s pre-match preparations taking a major dent prior to Sunday’s trip, it was reported on Saturday night that Aston Villa were in advanced discussions over a potential deal and it was also reported in some areas that Paqueta had informed Potter he did not want to feature at the City Ground.
However, despite all the noise away from the pitch, the Brazilian ace put in a monstrous performance in the middle of the park and made his feeling clear after cooly converting from the penalty spot in the 88th-minute.
Celebrating by making a phone signal with his hand, throwing it over his shoulder and kissing the West Ham badge in front of the electric travelling fans, that appeared to be a convincing statement.
With under 24 hours until the summer transfer window slams shut, there is no doubt that plenty of eyes will be fixed on Paqueta and where he will officially be when the window closes at 19:00pm on Monday night.
Match Report
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood
Subs: McAtee, Jesus, Hutchinson, Kalimuendo
West Ham: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Diouf, Soucek, Ward-Prowse, Fernandes, Bowen, Paqueta, Fulkrug
Subs: Wilson, Summerville, Irving
Goals: Bowen (84’), Paqueta (88’ P), Wilson (90+1’)
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
Referee: Craig Pawson
