Bournemouth fight back from two goals down to draw with West Ham

AFC Bournemouth produced a rousing second-half comeback to earn a 2-2 draw against West Ham United at Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Former Cherries striker Callum Wilson scored twice in the opening period to leave the Hammers seemingly on course for a third straight Premier League win on a wet and windy afternoon on the South Coast.

But Bournemouth produced a magnificent showing after the break, with Marcus Tavernier halving the deficit from the penalty spot after Maximilian Kilman was penalised for handball.

Enes Unal then made an immediate impact by smashing in the leveller just 46 seconds after coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute to earn Andoni Iraola's side a richly deserved point.

A draw means Bournemouth now sit seventh in the Premier League table, while Nuno Espirito Santo's men climb out of the bottom three to 17th.

How the match unfolded

West Ham went ahead after 11 minutes when Wilson brilliantly took Alphonse Areola's long punt out of the air before striking a low effort from range that squirmed through the hands of Djordje Petrovic.

Watch: Wilson's first goal

Wilson had his second 10 minutes before the break, spinning neatly in the area and firing high into the top-left corner after knock-ons from Jarrod Bowen and Jean-Clair Todibo.

Ryan Christie had a low drive saved by Areola and Evanilson missed with a wayward effort on the turn as Bournemouth upped the ante after the break.

Their pressure yielded reward when Kilman was penalised for handling when sliding in the area, and Tavernier smashed his effort hard to the right of Areola.

Areola then made a stunning stop to deny Junior Kroupi's side-footed effort. Still, there was little he could do to deny Unal making an instant impact by firing high into the roof of the goal from Marcos Senesi's expert through-ball.

Bournemouth continued to push, and Areola thwarted Evanilson from close range before Tavernier smashed the rebound over, while the visitors' goalkeeper also denied Amine Adli in a breathless finish.

Jekyll and Hyde Bournemouth arguably deserved more

Bournemouth's only defeat in their opening nine league matches was a frenetic opening-day loss at Liverpool, but they entered this contest on the back of consecutive losses.

Iraola will have been scratching his head at just quite how his side were two goals down at the break, given they dominated possession (73 per cent to 27), had more touches in the opposition box (14 to six), and had more shots (seven to two).

Indeed, you could argue they were the architects of their own downfall. The wind was certainly swirling on the South Coast and Senesi completely lost the flight of the ball for West Ham's first, while Petrovic seemed to lose check of himself with his attempt at the save.

But Bournemouth were simply fantastic after half-time, and the equaliser had been coming by the time Tavernier drilled home his spot-kick.

It was a nice moment when Unal, who has had terrible luck with injuries, was the man to level up the game with his first Premier League goal since netting against the Hammers in December 2024.

The only real surprise was that Bournemouth did not go on to win the match, with Areola the chief reason for that. Still, a point puts an end to their back-to-back losses and Iraola's men can now prepare for next Saturday's lengthy trip to Sunderland.

Nuno pays the price for Wilson sub

Wilson was once a hero at the Vitality Stadium, scoring 67 goals in 187 appearances during a six-season stay before joining Newcastle United.

Coincidentally, Wilson never managed to score against the Cherries during his time on Tyneside, but he was the scourge of his former employers on this occasion.

Both of Wilson's goals were the kind of finishes that have made him such a dangerous striker in the Premier League for so long, even if Senesi and Petrovic did not cover themselves in glory for his opener.

But with the wind and rain hammering in their faces for the second period, Nuno decided to remove his two-goal striker in favour of the more physical presence of Tomas Soucek in the 52nd minute.

While the conditions suggest there was logic behind the thinking, Wilson had been by far the visitors' most sustained goal threat, and his removal coincided with a relentless second-half barrage from the hosts.

Once Bournemouth had fought back into the game with Tavernier's penalty, there was a sense of inevitability about the equaliser, and it was only thanks to the heroics of Areola that West Ham clung on for a point.

Nuno's men had previously won back-to-back games, and they will look to return to the win column when they host defending champions Liverpool at the London Stadium on 30 November.

Club reports

Bournemouth report | West Ham report

What the managers said 

Andoni Iraola: "Second half we were all over them. We had good chances. I think Areola has been fantastic and we can't ask much more from the players. In the first half though, two cheap goals. We made mistakes.

"We have had a lot of good chances and it was not enough to win but I think the second half is difficult to improve."

Nuno Espirito Santo: "It's a very tough place to come. The first half was us - we took advantage of the straight ball, of the second ball, we managed the tempo of the game, we managed to control Bournemouth, and we achieved a good lead.

"In the second half, Bournemouth did exactly the same that we did [in the first]. They managed better the circumstances of the game, we couldn't go out, they put us against the ropes, they engaged five players in the last line.

"The boys were organised but were missing the pass to go out of pressure, to really hurt them with space, under tough circumstances."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Despite relinquishing a two-goal lead, West Ham have avoided defeat in each of their last nine Premier League games against Bournemouth since a 2-0 loss in January 2019 (W3 D6).

Bournemouth avoided defeat in a Premier League game having trailed by two or more goals for the first time since August 2024 (3-2 v Everton), having lost each of their previous eight such matches before today.

West Ham failed to win an away Premier League game after going 2-0 up for the first time since October 2017 (2-2 v Crystal Palace), having won each of their previous 20 away matches after going 2-0 up before today.

West Ham forward Wilson became the first player on record (since 2003/04) to score two or more goals in the first half of a Premier League game but fail to complete a single pass.