When Jacob Murphy smashed home a fierce effort after just four minutes, Newcastle United must have already been dreaming that a comprehensive win was in the bag, away at a struggling West Ham United side.

Unfortunately for the Magpies, though, their grip on a Premier League win would be very weak, as an inspired and passionate Hammers comeback would hand Nuno Espirito Santo his first win in the dug-out, as Eddie Howe's men had to stomach a demoralising 3-1 defeat.

Lucas Paqueta would get the hosts initially back into the tie with a stunning first-half effort, before a mixture of Newcastle's bad luck - which saw Sven Botman score a disastrous own goal - and West Ham's never-say-die attitude, courtesy of a last-minute strike by Thomas Soucek, gifted the home outfit a much-needed win.

While Paqueta was undoubtedly back to his classy best, many of Howe's dependable first-team faces let their manager down big time, as the Toon now remain stuck in an unsatisfactory 13th spot.

Newcastle's notable underperformers vs West Ham

Very few Newcastle players could trudge off at the end of the 3-1 defeat, enthused by their personal performance.

Malick Thiaw, arguably, put in a commendable shift, but he was very much let down by the likes of the aforementioned Botman and Emil Krafth next to him at the back, with the stand-in number 17 even being hooked off at the half-time mark, after winning zero duels during a calamitous first 45 minutes, per Sofascore.

Dan Burn also looked ropey throughout as a makeshift option on the left flank, but he somehow survived the full 90. Nick Woltemade, on the other hand, would also fall victim to Howe's half-time wrath, with the German striker only managing a weak 14 touches of the ball, before William Osula came on in his place.

Osula wasn't any better in a second-half showing that was simply described bleakly as not having "one positive" according to Toon great Alan Shearer, with Nick Pope also looking rather shaky, as he failed to palm Paqueta's stinging strike away, before further not covering himself in much glory when Soucek's scrappy effort was somehow bundled home.

However, one of Newcastle's biggest underperformers is yet to be mentioned, with the midfielder in question outclassed throughout by Paqueta, away from just the Brazilian scoring West Ham's memorable opener.

The 4/10 Newcastle star who was outclassed by Paqueta

Paqueta was in dire need of showing the London Stadium masses why he keeps being selected week in, week out, with his top-drawer performance against Newcastle silencing the critics, no doubt.

Indeed, the hot-and-cold number ten would battle hard throughout the 3-1 win to ensure Nuno collected his first victory as Hammers boss, with seven duels won. On top of that, his sensational strike, which is his third Premier League goal of the season already, reminded everyone of his split-second ability to change games.

While Paqueta was lively and instrumental to West Ham gaining a rare home success, Joelinton continued his ongoing demise from the middle of the park, as can be seen looking at the table above.

Journalist Luke Edwards would label Newcastle's overall performance as having "no energy", and that was very evident in the no-show served up by Paqueta's fellow compatriot, as the declining number seven won zero tackles, alongside also winning only 42% of his duels.

Even West Ham's Freddie Potts would outclass Joelinton in this regard, as the homegrown Hammers prodigy won three tackles and five duels on what was his first Premier League start of the campaign to date.

Only mustering up one effort on the West Ham goal, too, it's clear that the 29-year-old was way off Paqueta's high standards throughout, culminating in Newcastle World's Jordan Cronin dishing him out a low 4/10 post-match rating.

Howe will have to consider dropping some of his long-standing loyalties he holds with many of his well-established servants if Newcastle is to bounce back with a win against Athletic Club in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Anthony Gordon another who could be at risk of being axed, after the aforementioned Edwards dubbed his first-half efforts in East London as "awful".

But, Joelinton will surely be the most fearful about his first team spot moving forward after being upstaged by Paqueta, as a refreshed side potentially takes to the field against the visitors from Spain mid-week.