Nuno apologises after West Ham ‘fail’ fans in Charlton defeat

Nuno Espirito Santo believes West Ham “failed” their supporters against Charlton Athletic as they remain without a win from their first two Championship games.

West Ham were pegged back by Burnley to draw their first match back in the second tier, and they followed that up with a 2-1 loss to Charlton in their home opener.

Lloyd Jones and Tyreece Campbell scored Charlton’s goals to ensure they maintained their 100% start to the 2026-27 campaign.

Joel Piroe did net his first Hammers goal to pull one back, but when they had the chance to snatch a last-gasp point, Valentin Castellanos could only strike the woodwork from the penalty spot after Conor Coventry’s handball.

But it was a match that West Ham dominated, having 77.6% possession and 25 shots worth 3.0 expected goals (xG).

They gave up seven shots (five on target), with Charlton only accumulating 0.6 xG, and the Hammers also had four Opta-defined ‘big’ chances to the visitors’ 0.

And Nuno lamented West Ham’s difficulties in both boxes as they now sit 17th in the Championship after two games.

“I’m disappointed. It’s not about the way we played; it’s about the situations in the box,” he told West Ham TV.

Full-time. pic.twitter.com/oClBHKeGwV

— West Ham United (@WestHam) August 22, 2026

“We didn’t defend the throw-in properly [that led to Jones’ opening goal]; we didn’t create enough in the offensive box.

“We created a lot of situations, but this is football, and we have to be more precise in the boxes.

“I didn’t know exactly the number of shots [we had], but we created a lot of situations but weren’t able to take them.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s us who failed. It was us. We failed the fans. We should apologise.”

While West Ham have struggled to settle back into life in the Championship, Wolves have not had the same issue, picking up their first win by thrashing Preston North End 3-1.

There were also 3-1 wins for Portsmouth and Southampton, against Lincoln City and Stoke City respectively.

But only one other side still has a perfect record after the first two rounds, with Millwall beating 10-man Norwich City 3-0 to top the table as they look to improve on last season’s play-off disappointment.