Cherries came from behind to beat West Ham 2-2, and Bournemouth missed out on a chance to move into the top four.
The Hammers got off to a perfect start, with Callum Wilson scoring two first-half goals to put his former club to shame, but Andoni Iraola’s side fought back with a dominant second-half performance.
Marcus Tavernier’s penalty and the immediate impact of substitute Enes Unal gave the hosts a point, but they would have had all three points had it not been for an inspired performance from West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
Bournemouth were without Antoine Semenyo through injury and were punished by an all-too-familiar face as they failed to show the same impetus in attack without him.
Callum Wilson opens the scoring for West Ham
Wilson took a long ball from Arreola and fired it between the arms of Djordje Petrovic, who had pushed him aside, to give the visitors the lead. The forward doubled his tally soon after with a stunning finish from close range as he continued his bid to break into the Premier League 100 club.
The second half was as one-sided as it could have been. Nuno Espirito Santo’s decision to substitute Wilson early in the first half left the Hammers with no attacking outlet and Bournemouth’s sustained pressure ultimately paid off.
Marcus Tavernier pulled one back with a penalty past Areola, and Enes Unal equalized within 55 seconds of coming on to the pitch in his second game back from a serious knee injury.
Tavernier pulls one back for the Cherries from the penalty spot.
The hosts had the momentum and looked certain to walk away with all three points, but despite Bournemouth racking up an xG of 4.08, Arreola made some fine saves to earn the struggling Irons a crucial point.
The result means West Ham are out of the relegation zone despite being level with Leeds on points and goal difference, while Bournemouth miss out on a top-four spot.
“Even though I made a comeback, it’s a bad thing.”
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola lamented his team’s poor finish, meaning the come-from-behind draw was a “downside” in his eyes.
Cherries’ 4.08 xG is second only to Crystal Palace’s 4.44 in the Premier League this season, and the Spaniard was left frustrated by a lack of clinical edge in the final third.
“I think we were much better than West Ham,” Iraola said. “I think we conceded two goals in the first half alone, but it wasn’t as bad as West Ham.
“Now we’re losing 2-0 so they’ll say, ‘No, the first half belonged to West Ham.’ No, we were better than West Ham in the first half, but we conceded two goals that we shouldn’t have conceded.
“But in the second half we were much better than West Ham and had so many chances, so it’s a negative for us.”
Espirito Santo insists it’s time to improve our away form
Despite going unbeaten in three games, they are only two points away from home, which was won by Nuno Espirito Santo, who has taken over as West Ham manager.
The Portuguese manager expressed the importance of improving the club’s away form and admitted the 2-0 lead was a perfect chance to do so.
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has urged his players to improve their away form.
“We managed to get over the wall and win at the London Stadium. We will now improve our away form,” he said.
“We had a good chance today. As you can see, it slipped from our hands. But I’m positive because of the effort of the players.”
“We were punished in the same way that we punished Bournemouth. Bournemouth punished us and it was very harsh.”
Unal’s redemption after injury
Enes Unal was the hero off the bench for Bournemouth, completing a full-circle moment in the process.
The Turkish striker equalized for Bournemouth in the same game last season with a stunning free-kick in the 90th minute, but was sidelined shortly after with a second anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Bournemouth’s Enes Unal celebrates equalizer
Iraola said after the game, “When something like this happens, everyone is very happy and very pleased.”
“I have been fighting almost alone with physiotherapists for 10 months, but I have experienced difficult times with small pains and swelling in my knee, and even if I started, I had to stop.
“It’s also his second ACL in the same knee, so he knows the process very well.
“Everyone was very happy for him because Enes is a great finisher if you can get him close to the box.
“He also had a chance to score the third goal. Even though he didn’t score, we are very happy. It’s good to have Enes back at a time when we’ve lost important attacking players.”
Nuno completes hat-trick win with passive substitution
Replacing Nuno Espirito Santo has proved costly for West Ham
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:
At half-time it would have seemed like it would be a long time before West Ham were able to throw away their two-goal advantage against Vitality.
Bournemouth looked shocked by Callum Wilson’s sucker-punch combination of danger and disadvantage.
But Nuno Espirito Santo’s decision to leave out his goalscorer proved costly. Wilson’s two goals were supported by some great play from the centre-forward. He keeps the defender in check and then drops the ball with his chest.
Even with the towering Tomas Soucek replacing him, there was now no one leading the line that would give the Hammers any breathing room when they opened up.
As a result, the second half was defined as a one-way street. Even when the Cherries were thwarted by the incredible Alphonse Areola, Arreola’s teammates were quick to hit back when given the ball back.
In many ways, Areola’s performance was a match-winner, considering the hosts amassed such a high xG. However, the fact that it did not lead to three straight wins for the Hammers was due to the head coach disrupting the team with changes.
