First Half
A point was earned by Bournemouth via Dominic Solanke in Andoni Iraola’s debut game as manager just when it appeared West Ham and Jarrod Bowen would continue where they left off in last season’s Europa Conference League final. When Solanke circled Alphonse Areola with 82 minutes remaining, David Moyes stood with both arms folded on the border of his technical area and exhibited a displeased expression. Iraola gave his team embraces as they exited the tunnel while wearing a black turtleneck sweater.
West Ham accepted the fact that Declan Rice would be sold to a larger fish before that momentous night in Prague but did not entertain the idea of selling Lucas Paqueta a month later. Given that Paquetá is eager to transfer and has an £85 million release clause that goes into effect next summer, West Ham rejected an initial £70 million offer from Manchester City for the Brazilian midfielder this week, but it seems virtually clear that Paquetá’s future will soon lay elsewhere.
In the initial exchanges, West Ham was the team pressing the issue; nevertheless, Pablo Fornals and Bowen both missed their shots inside the first seven minutes.
After some deft work from Solanke, Bournemouth had a fantastic opportunity of their very own in the 13th minute, but David Brooks’ shot missed the far post. Then, as Bournemouth averted a perilous situation, Tomas Soucek struck onto the inside of the post from close range, sending the ball into Neto’s clutches.
In the 26th minute, Alphonse Areola had to stop Ryan Christie from scoring. Five minutes later, Solanke was given an opportunity as West Ham defender Kurt Zouma slipped up, but the defensive player just managed to make the clearing. Late in the first quarter, Philip Billing cleared a shot off the line, but neither team exerted enough effort to merit going into halftime ahead.
Second Half
Before West Ham scored in the 51st minute through Bowen, Areola produced an outstanding save on a shot from Brooks early in the second half.
At the Vitality Stadium, the Englishman received a feed from Soucek and beautifully found the back of the net to score the game’s first goal. Following Aarons’ deft release of his teammate, Bournemouth had an opportunity to draw even, but Areola denied Solanke before Billing’s free shot went deflected over the crossbar.
On 84 minutes, Paquetá made an impression and hit the post just after Solanke had equalised for Bournemouth by latching onto Antoine Semenyo’s errant effort that had landed at his feet via Tomas Soucek’s heel. Danny Ings was subsequently let free by Paquetá, but Chris Mepham misdirected his attempt wide.
Paquetá was the mastermind behind most of West Ham’s skill; his volley following an Emerson Palmieri cutback was cleared early in the second half. Prior to the half, the Brazilian superbly protected the ball while lying on his backside inside the West Ham area after going to the ground to take it away from Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie.
There was a lot of activity on the goal located in front of the Steve Fletcher Stand. Early in the first half, after being slid in by Sad Benrahma, Soucek toe-poked against a post, but the ball shot right into the palms of a thankful Neto’s in the Bournemouth goal. After Michail Antonio clung to a Paquetá flick at a corner, Philip Billing wellied the ball away on the goal line.
Halfway through the second half, Joe Rothwell made a cutting inside strike that found the crossbar. Both David Brooks and Pablo Fornals came close, with Brooks forcing Areola to tip the ball over with a venomous left-foot volley from the outside of the 18-yard box.
In the front of the flying West Ham fans, Bowen embarked on a now-familiar knee slide six minutes into the second half. Thirty yards from the Bournemouth goal, Fornals dove in to stop Rothwell as he advanced, and Soucek pushed the ball into Bowen. Immediately moving the ball away from his feet, Bowen unleashed a wonderful left-foot shot that sailed into the top corner.
Next Up- West Ham United vs Chelsea
Date- 20th August, 2023
Time- 4.30pm GMT
Venue- London Stadium
