West Ham United played a part in Swansea City breaking an attendance record on Saturday.  

The Hammers beat the Championship leaders 1-0 thanks to a goal from Divine Mukasa and duly moved up to second in the table, just a point behind the Welsh side. 

Swans head coach Vitor Matos has been earning rave reviews for his fine work this season, so his verdict on the Irons clearly carries weight. After the game, he was full of praise for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

Vitor Matos hails West Ham as one of Championship’s best teams

Speaking after West Ham’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Swansea, Matos paid special mention to Nuno’s backline. Asked about the game by Swansea’s official website, he said: “They defended really well as well. They are a good team, especially the back four was really organised and hard to break down.

“These are the games we want to compete in, and the kind of teams we want to compete against. We want to try to beat the best ones. They are one of the best of the league.” 

Indeed, it was far from a brilliant attacking performance from West Ham, but it was that defensive solidity that Matos mentions that managed to seal three crucial points on the road. Max Kilman continues to impress (who’d have thought that a few months ago?!) alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos, while Mads Hermansen has hardly been called upon for two games now.  

West Ham help Swansea break attendance record

A record 20,793 fans packed into the Swansea.com Stadium to watch two of this season’s Championship heavyweights go at it. 

Clearly, the fact that Swansea are flying high in the Championship helps, but there is little doubt that West Ham are a big draw in the second tier. Their trip to Watford’s Vicarage Road ended with a disappointing 1-1 draw in late August but it brought a capacity crowd to the stadium, the first time that had happened since 2020.

West Ham are one of the biggest clubs in the Championship and, right now, they are playing like it. They were far from brilliant against Swansea but to go to the league leaders and grind out a victory is the hallmark of a very strong side.