West Ham Struggles Deepen As Fulham Win Prompts Nuno To Lament Bad Luck

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West Ham slipped deeper into relegation trouble after a 1-0 home defeat to Fulham, a result that lifted Fulham into the top half of the Premier League. Raul Jimenez struck late in the London derby, handing West Ham a record-equalling 11th home league loss in a calendar year.

The defeat keeps West Ham 18th in the table, five points adrift of safety, and extended a winless run to seven Premier League matches. It was also their seventh defeat in nine league outings, underlining the scale of the struggle facing Nuno Espirito Santo and the squad.

Nuno Espirito Santo reflected on the loss with clear frustration after watching West Ham fail to turn pressure into goals, especially following an improved second-half display. Jarrod Bowen missed the clearest opening, steering wide from inside the six-yard box before Jimenez punished West Ham late on.

Nuno acknowledged that West Ham had chances after the break but felt a crucial error decided the match. "It [the goal] comes after some chances we had in the second half. We have been punished by a mistake, and we lose the game," Nuno said. "Everybody cares, it's not about that, but about the situation we are in. Everything bad happens to us."

The head coach believed the first half was balanced, yet West Ham then took control without reward. "You can argue about the justice of the result, but the reality is we lost after what I think was an equal first half. Second half, we had the momentum, created situations we should have scored from. In the end, we were punished," Nuno added.

Nuno stressed that wasteful finishing again left West Ham exposed. "When you don't score, you are never totally comfortable. We have to react. The good part is we play another game [against Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday]. It's another chance to give back to our fans." That fixture quickly follows a damaging derby setback at London Stadium.

Jimenez’s decisive header not only secured Fulham’s third straight league victory but also continued a strong personal record. The goal marked Jimenez’s seventh Premier League strike against West Ham, the highest number the forward has scored versus any single opponent in the competition across Jimenez’s career.

Fulham’s win continued a strong spell in which results have matched controlled performances. "It's special for us to be winning three games in a row," Jimenez said. "We are happy to finish the year with a win, and we want to start next year with the same. We are playing well, having control of the games."

Jimenez underlined Fulham’s belief that chances will arrive if the team maintains composure. "We know we are going to have our chances to score. It was late, but in the end it's 1-0 and we go home with three points. It's always important to keep this good form. We have been together. We wanted to start the season like this, but different things [happened]."

The forward also spoke about Fulham’s wider ambitions during a busy festive schedule. "Now we are in good form, we don't want to lose it. We want to go as high [in the table] as possible. It's tough, the league is really competitive. We can be there but must continue working. It's a tough period of games and we must win as many of them [as possible]."

For West Ham, the defeat matched a home league loss record last seen in 1967 and added pressure before the meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion. Fulham, by contrast, closed the year with momentum, three straight Premier League wins and a growing sense of confidence in a demanding season.