Football Today
·17 December 2024
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·17 December 2024
West Ham United held Bournemouth to a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium last night.
Lucas Paqueta’s penalty was cancelled out by a gorgeous free-kick from Enes Unal that pulled the Cherries back into the game.
The Hammers will bemoan a late mistake from Konstantinos Mavropanos, who gave away a needless free-kick that the Turkish international converted with aplomb.
With four points from their past two games, manager Julen Lopetegui will breathe a sigh of relief. His job was at stake, but these results will buy him some time.
Former France international and CBS Sports pundit Thierry Henry believes West Ham should give Lopetegui more time.
Henry said (via the BBC): “They showed me something that I didn’t see for a little while at West Ham, especially this season.
They showed me that they could play, and at one point, they had to be resilient, away from home, against a team that at times is going to push them – they did.
“I hope that they can give him (Lopetegui) time to perform and show what he is about.”
West Ham came close to taking the lead early on through Jarrod Bowen, but his stunning shot clipped the bar. Bournemouth had a clear-cut chance, but Dango Ouattara missed from point-blank range.
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski enjoyed another decent outing since usurping the starting berth from the dreadful Alphonse Areola.
West Ham will hope to keep up this decent run of form when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the London Stadium this weekend.
Another win will go a long way to ensuring Lopetegui gets enough time to implement his vision at the club.