A stunning free-kick from substitute Enes Ünal salvaged a dramatic Premier League (PL) point for Bournemouth against West Ham, extending the Hammers’ dismal away form to just one win in seven games (D3, L3).
Armed with the momentum of three successive PL wins, Bournemouth came within inches of an early opener when Antoine Semenyo directed a low effort against the outside of the post. Grateful for that reprieve, West Ham went close themselves just minutes later, with Jarrod Bowen’s superb strike from range hitting the top of the bar.
The visitors continued to commit numbers forward in pursuit of a breakthrough as Carlos Soler and Tomáš Souček missed a pair of good chances when well-placed in the box. That profligacy was nearly punished on the stroke of HT, with Dango Ouattara seeing a close-range strike at the back post brilliantly thwarted by the legs of Łukasz Fabiański.
Having already beaten Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham on home soil this season, the Cherries came flying out the blocks at the start of the second half, with Fabiański called into action to deny Semenyo and Ryan Christie in quick succession. The frantic nature of the contest showed no signs of slowing down with time ticking into the final half-hour as Evanilson’s near-post header was once again saved by the inspired Fabiański.
Andoni Iraola’s men looked determined to make their pressure count late on, with Justin Kluivert firing over from range before Fabiański produced his best save of the night, diving spectacularly to deny Christie. For all Bournemouth’s dominance, however, there was a late sting in the tail when Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross deflected off the arm of Tyler Adams, with VAR intervening to award the penalty. Lucas Paquetá assumed the responsibility from the spot and tucked home into the bottom corner to give West Ham the advantage.
Undeterred by that setback, the hosts found a perfect response in the final minute of the 90’, with substitute Ünal curling a sublime free-kick into the top corner to earn Bournemouth a deserved share of the spoils.
The result sees Iraola’s side move up to sixth in the table while West Ham remain 14th after an inconsistent first half of the campaign.