AFC Bournemouth v West Ham United Live Commentary & Result, 23/04/2023, Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	MCI Manchester City	38	28	5	5	94	33	+61	89	L D W W W
2	ARS Arsenal	38	26	6	6	88	43	+45	84	W L L W W
3	MUN Manchester United	38	23	6	9	58	43	+15	75	W W W W L
4	NEW Newcastle United	38	19	14	5	68	33	+35	71	D D W D L
5	LIV Liverpool	38	19	10	9	75	47	+28	67	D D W W W
6	BHA Brighton & Hove Albion	38	18	8	12	72	53	+19	62	L D W L W
7	AVL Aston Villa	38	18	7	13	51	46	+5	61	W D W L L
8	TOT Tottenham Hotspur	38	18	6	14	70	63	+7	60	W L L W L
9	BRE Brentford	38	15	14	9	58	46	+12	59	W W W L W
10	FUL Fulham	38	15	7	16	55	53	+2	52	L D W W L
11	CRY Crystal Palace	38	11	12	15	40	49	-9	45	D D W L W
12	CHE Chelsea	38	11	11	16	38	47	-9	44	D L L D W
13	WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	11	8	19	31	58	-27	41	L D L W L
14	WHU West Ham United	38	11	7	20	42	55	-13	40	L W L W L
15	BOU AFC Bournemouth	38	11	6	21	37	71	-34	39	L L L L W
16	NFO Nottingham Forest	38	9	11	18	38	68	-30	38	D W D W L
17	EVE Everton	38	8	12	18	34	57	-23	36	W D L W D
18	LEI Leicester City	38	9	7	22	51	68	-17	34	W D L L D
19	LEE Leeds United	38	7	10	21	48	78	-30	31	L L D L L
20	SOU Southampton	38	6	7	25	36	73	-37	25	D L L L L

That's all from us, we hope you enjoyed the game as much as West Ham did! We'll see you next time, as it's bye for now.

Three crucial points sees Bournemouth leapfrogged in the table by West Ham, who climb to 13th, six points above the bottom three and one ahead of the Cherries in 15th. Bournemouth are still five clear of the drop zone and four clear of Leeds directly below them, but a crushing 4-0 loss hasn't done them any favours in the goal difference department either, with their -32 now the second worst in the division.

The creativity and tireless running of Jarrod Bowen was a catalyst for most of the things West Ham did well in this game, completing 21 final-third passes, creating two chances and setting up Fornals for his side's fourth in the second half. Bowen also won six of his 13 duels, including two in the air, and won the ball six times in total, with two of these coming in Bournemouth's defensive third to directly set up chances for West Ham. He's certainly rising to the occasion in what has largely been a season to forget for the Hammers.

It's all over at the Vitality Stadium, and that second-half goal for Fornals completes a 4-0 rout by West Ham. With the damage well and truly done in the first half, Bournemouth did their best to respond but remained unable to find a way through resolute Hammers defence. Moore provided significantly more attacking threat and had several chances, as did Ouattara, Solanke and Anthony, but Fabianski made several saves to retain his clean sheet. West Ham's cutting edge in front of goal proved the difference in what was otherwise quite an even game, and if they keep that up, there'll be no doubts over their Premier League safety.

90' + 4' FULL-TIME: BOURNEMOUTH 0-4 WEST HAM.

90' + 4' The corner is cleared by Bournemouth, but back come West Ham as Kehrer crosses from the byline. Soucek climbs at the back post to head goalwards, but his effort glances across the face of goal before bouncing wide!

90' + 3' CHANCE!!! Released by Rice on the counter-attack, an onside Cornet races into open pasture and crosses into the area. Neto comes for the ball, but in slides Stephens to put it behind for a West Ham corner!

90' + 1' NO GOAL!!! It's been overturned! As we enter three added minutes of injury time, VAR replays clearly show that Cornet was beyond the last man as Fornals played that pass. It remains 4-0, and Cornet is denied a goal that would have finished off a move that he started from inside his own half!

90' BALL IN THE NET!!! Cornet drives into Bournemouth's half with the ball and has a shot blocked from the edge of the box, but West Ham keep possession and work the ball to the right. Fornals drills a low cross back into the centre, where Cornet escapes his man and fires the ball beyond Neto! West Ham players wheel away to celebrate their fifth, but replays show there's a question of offside to be answered here...

88' Astonishingly, Bournemouth have attempted 530 passes in this game, their highest total in a single Premier League match this season, and despite having that much of the ball (65.1 per cent possession), they are 4-0 down at home! Football, eh?

87' Bournemouth have certainly kept Fabianski busy between the sticks for West Ham. He's made six saves thus far, last making at least five in one match back in November 2022 against Crystal Palace.

85' Moore is the target of another cross into West Ham's box, but Zouma matches him in the air and pulls off another good defensive header to prevent conceding a corner.

T. Kehrer

V. Coufal

83' Coufal comes off in West Ham's latest change, and Thilo Kehrer will see out the game at right-back.

82' WIDE!!! He had to do better there!! Tavernier's cross finds Moore in the box, who meets it on the volley but can only put his effort wide of the far post!

81' SAVED!!! Ouattara switches play to the right where Anthony has arrived, and the substitute curls a left-footed shot goalwards but it's parried away from the top corner by Fabianski!

79' Bournemouth have conceded nine goals to opposition substitutes in the Premier League this season, with only Leicester City (10) doing so more often.

78' SAVED!!! Downes escapes the attention of Mepham as he receives Rice's pass, hitting a powerful shot on the turn which is parried wide by Neto!

F. Downes

Lucas Paquetá

76' Paqueta is another who has run the show for the Hammers, and Flynn Downes replaces the Brazilian with full-time on the horizon.

M. Cornet

J. Bowen

76' Bowen has been exquisite throughout this game for West Ham, and comes off to one hell of an ovation from the away fans as he's replaced by Maxwel Cornet.

L. Cook

J. Lerma

75' Bournemouth's fifth and final change sees Lewis Cook enter the fray in place of Lerma.

74' WHAT A SAVE!! Tavernier puts Anthony into space and the substitute crosses for Solanke at the front post, whose acrobatic volley is pushed onto the post by a desperate Fabianski! That was sneaking into the corner without Fabianski's intervention, no question.

74' WIDE!!! Ouattara looks to respond for Bournemouth and cuts onto his left foot, with his shot taking a slight deflection as it rolls agonisingly wide of the post with Fabianski at full stretch!

J. Bowen

Assist

72' The work from Bowen there was absolutely superb, and he's provided so much of West Ham's impetus down that right side throughout this game.

Pablo Fornals

Goal

72' GOOOOOAAALLL!!! Game, set and match for West Ham!!! Stephens' pass out of defence is cut out by Rice, who scoops the ball over the top for Bowen. He takes on and beats two defenders before crossing into the box, where Fornals meets it and scores with a somewhat accidental scorpion kick!! Superb build-up and a bizarre finish, but the Hammers won't care as they're now 4-0 up!

70' Several headers between plays in the box sees the ball drop for Ouattara, who proceeds to smash a volley over the bar from the edge of the area!

69' A long-range effort from Ouattara is blocked by Aguerd, but he and Zouma then get in each other's way and the latter's attempted clearance bounces behind off Coufal to gift Bournemouth a corner!

Ł. Fabiański

Yellow Card

67' Fabianski takes a touch too long to take a routine goal kick, and the referee shows him a yellow card for that time-wasting.

65' SAVED!!! Moore shrugs off Aguerd before turning and shooting from the edge of the box, with his low drive saved and held well by Fabianski!

Pablo Fornals

S. Benrahma

65' Benrahma is also brought off by David Moyes, and Pablo Fornals will take his place down the left wing.

D. Ings

M. Antonio

65' Antonio comes off in the first of West Ham's changes, and he's replaced up front by Danny Ings, whose professional career began at this very stadium.

64' SAVED!! Good play from West Ham as Cresswell advances to cross from the byline. The ball finds Bowen on the edge of the box, who lays it off to Benrahma, with his shot flying through the crowd before being held by Neto!

63' SAVED! Benrahma dribbles into space down the left before cutting inside and shooting, but it's an easy save for Neto to make as the ball comes straight to him!

M. Viña

L. Kelly

61' Kelly is also replaced by Gary O'Neill, coming off for another of last week's scorers, Matias Vina, to see out the game.

D. Ouattara

R. Christie

61' Christie also comes off, with Dango Ouattara, scorer of that late winner against Tottenham, coming on to provide a late spark in this game.

J. Anthony

A. Smith

61' Bournemouth make a triple change on the hour, the first of which sees Jaidon Anthony come on in place of Smith.

60' Moore's the target once again as Tavernier knocks a cross into the area, but a strong punch from Fabianski relieves West Ham of the danger!

59' CHANCE!! The Hammers break at speed and Paqueta puts Antonio through on goal. Neto closes the gap, but Antonio is prevented from shooting thanks to a crucial touch from Mepham, and Stephens clears for Bournemouth!

58' WIDE!!! Christie's teasing cross from the right is met by Moore in the box, but his looping header sails over Fabianski's head and drops wide of the post!

N. Aguerd

Yellow Card

56' Bournemouth break quickly from a West Ham corner, and Moore is dragged to the floor by Aguerd as the Hammers' defence rushes to get back. Aguerd goes into the book for the foul, and Bournemouth win a free-kick on halfway.

54' WIDE!!! Paqueta is in space and puts Antonio into a good shooting position in the box. He's forced wide by Mepham though, and his left-footed shot rolls wide of the near post and into the side netting!

54' West Ham win a free-kick on the edge of the box, but Benrahma's strike is straight into the wall and Paqueta's effort from the rebound is blocked and cleared!

53' Bournemouth's 350 attempted passes the first half alone was higher than their season average of 349.4 in the Premier League, and despite this, they hardly laid a glove on West Ham and conceded three goals!

51' West Ham are unbeaten in the last three Premier League matches they've led at half-time, dating back to a 3-1 home loss against Arsenal in December.

49' Billing picks out Moore with a cross into the box, but the Welshman's glancing header is wide of the near post!

49' Solanke and Christie both attempt shots from tight angles on the left, but Zouma and Aguerd are there to block both efforts away from danger.

49' Paqueta spots Benrahma in acres of space to his left, but his ball into the box from the touchline is too close to Neto and the Bournemouth 'keeper collects the cross.

K. Moore

Yellow Card

48' A throughball is half-cleared by West Ham as Benrahma sets off on the counter. He's pulled back and to ground by Moore though, who is shown a yellow card just three minutes after coming on!

47' Tavernier picks up the ball in space and tries his luck from the edge of the box, but Zouma gets in the way to block it behind for a corner!

46' Benrahma kicks off the second half for West Ham, and we're back up and running on the south coast!

K. Moore

J. Rothwell

46' Bournemouth make one change at the break, with Rothwell coming off for Kieffer Moore to provide an outlet up front for the Cherries.

The teams return to the field of play ahead of the second half, and can Bournemouth halt West Ham's momentum to spark a comeback of their own?

Lucas Paqueta was everywhere for West Ham in the first half, scoring the second goal with a strong header and completing three final third entries. He's had the most touches, attempted and accurate passes so far for the Hammers, creating a chance with one of his 12 in the final third and also contesting a team-high eight duels. He's been successful in six of these, including a dribble and aerial duel apiece, winning possession with three tackles and an interception. Buzzing.

A free-flowing first 45 minutes come to an end, and it's been a perfect start from West Ham at the Vitality. Antonio's bullet header opened the scoring inside five minutes, and Paqueta doubled the lead with a powerful headed effort of his own just seven minutes later. Bournemouth then were able to settle into the game, albeit without creating many clear-cut chances, and were caught on the break for West Ham to score from another corner just before half-time, with Rice lashing the ball goalwards from Soucek's flick. Bournemouth have had plenty of the ball, but West Ham's ability to keep their defensive shape, and having the Midas touch in front of goal, has limited their ability to make much of an impact so far.

45' + 3' HALF-TIME: BOURNEMOUTH 0-3 WEST HAM.

45' + 1' Bowen skilfully turns Lerma and releases Coufal into space down the right. The full-back's first-time cross is glanced away by Stephens though, before Kelly clears for the Cherries!

45' We'll play three added minutes to close out the first half, with Bournemouth desperate to mount some form of a comeback as quickly as they can.

44' Bournemouth had maintained a whopping 77 per cent possession in the 15 minutes leading up to that goal, but West Ham's clinical finishing has put them into a commanding lead so far.

T. Souček

Assist

43' Soucek's flick from that scrappy-looking corner didn't appear to have caused Bournemouth many problems, but they'd reckoned without Rice arriving late to smash that ball home.

D. Rice

Goal

43' GOOOOOAAALLL!!! The captain makes it three!!! From another Hammers corner, Soucek flicks the ball on and the front post, and it drops kindly for the arriving Rice. The England midfielder lashes a half-volley beyond Neto and into the bottom corner, putting West Ham 3-0 up right at the end of a first half that has been perfect from their perspective.

42' CHANCE!!! Lerma's chipped ball over the top is chased hard by Solanke, who almost profits from a mix-up between Zouma and Aguerd. The latter gets a crucial touch to force him wide though, and the off-balance Bournemouth striker can't get a shot away!

40' Soucek beats Christie to the ball in midfield and looks to set off on the counter, but Mepham is back in cover and knocks the ball out of play to prevent Bournemouth being caught short.

38' Since losing to Nottingham Forest in August, West Ham United have won all four of their league matches against newly promoted sides. The Hammers last recorded five consecutive victories over promoted sides in the top-flight between April 1997 and January 1998.

36' An injury to Paqueta brings the game to a halt, but the Brazilian is eventually cleared to continue and we're back underway.

34' SAVED!!! So very nearly a third for the visitors! A poor pass from Kelly is seized upon by Bowen, who cuts onto his left foot and drills a low shot towards the far corner. However, a deflection off Mepham skews the ball into Antonio's path, and Neto charges out to snatch the ball before the Jamaican international can make it three!

33' Bournemouth have conceded 33 first-half goals across their 32 league games, which is the most of any team this season.

31' Benrahma advances up the left-hand side and has Rice in support, whose 25-yard effort is blocked by the back of Lerma!

30' SAVED!!! Solanke spins away from Aguerd and surges into the box. He bears down on goal and looks to place the ball in the far corner, but Fabianski's outstretched leg denies him!

29' Christie's corner is headed clear and Benrahma sets off on the break for West Ham. Antonio charges through the middle and is clean through on goal if found with the ball, but Smith's strong defensive header cuts out Benrahma's cross-field pass and gives Bournemouth's defence time to recover.

28' SAVED!!! Lerma's attempted throughball into the box results in possession ricocheting back to him, and the Colombian curls a powerful shot from the edge of the box, which is heading for the top corner before Fabianski parries it away!

27' West Ham ended an 11-game away winless run with their 1-0 away win against Fulham, and the Hammers haven’t won consecutive away games since January 2022.

25' CHANCE!! Christie evades two defenders to meet Smith's throughball into the area, and cuts the ball back across the face of goal. Nobody meets it though, and Tavernier's cross from the opposite side is knocked away by Coufal!

24' Soucek's overhit cross is kept in play by Benrahma, and Paqueta then returns serve from the left-hand side. Soucek meets the ball at the far post, but can't generate anywhere near enough power on his header to trouble Neto!

22' CHANCE!! A good Billing cross is put behind, winning Bournemouth a corner. Rothwell's delivery is met by Mepham, who can't connect properly with his header and Fabianski dives on the loose ball!

21' A series of flicks between Soucek and Bowen sends Antonio racing through on goal, but Kelly covers well and prods the ball back to Neto, who duly clears Bournemouth's lines.

19' Coufal and Paqueta do well to keep possession down the right, and the latter tees up Bowen to cross into the area. The winger follows suit and finds Benrahma, but he can't keep his header down and the ball loops over the bar!

17' Rothwell spots Smith making a darting run towards the back post, but his cross-field pass bounces out of play before the full-back can connect with it.

16' Lerma finds Solanke in space within the West Ham penalty area, but he's quickly closed down, swarmed and dispossessed by a flurry of white and orange shirts and can't get the shot away!

14' West Ham have won their last two Premier League games against Bournemouth, and are well on the way to completing their first league double over the Cherries, in what is the seventh different campaign in which they've met.

V. Coufal

Assist

12' A fantastic cross from Coufal after Bowen won the ball in the final third, and Paqueta scores West Ham's second goal for the second game running!

Lucas Paquetá

Goal

12' GOOOOOOAAAALL!!! Hammer time on the south coast!!! West Ham double their lead in quick succession after Bowen dispossesses Tavernier. Coufal overlaps and hangs a cross towards the back post, where Paqueta arrives late to power home another superb header! What a start for West Ham, and they're now 2-0 up inside the first 12 minutes of this game.

11' CHANCE! Smart play down the right between Bowen and Soucek allows the latter to square the ball to Benrahma on the edge of the box, but the arriving Algerian doesn't catch his shot cleanly and it rolls in Neto's waiting gloves!

10' West Ham win another corner, this time from the opposite side, but Cresswell's in-swinger is headed away by Mepham at the front post.

9' Bournemouth have now conceded 11 goals in the first 15 minutes of their games this season, more than any other side in the Premier League this term.

7' Billing picks up the ball in space and tries a shot on the half-volley, but drags his effort woefully wide of goal and behind for a goal kick.

A. Cresswell

Assist

5' Cresswell's delivery was a pinpoint one, and that vicious header from Antonio turned a good cross into a fantastic opening goal.

M. Antonio

Goal

5' GOOOOOAAAALLL!!! An absolute bullet!!! West Ham's first corner of the match is swung into the area by Cresswell, and Antonio loses his marker at the near post. The West Ham number nine jumps and diverts a powerful header into the top corner, giving Neto no chance and the visitors the lead! 1-0 to the Hammers, and that's just the start David Moyes will have been dreaming of!

3' Bowen cuts inside from the right and looks to feed Antonio in the box, but Stephens shields the ball well and Neto collects.

2' Tavernier wins Bournemouth an early corner after Zouma blocks his cross behind, but a flick-on at the front post sends the ball straight into Fabianski's gloves.

1' Solanke kicks the game off for Bournemouth, and we're underway at the Vitality Stadium!

The teams are out on the pitch, and we're nearly ready to go on the south coast of England!

Michail Antonio’s two strikes opened and rounded off the scoring against Gent, with Lucas Paqueta’s penalty and a superb run and finish by Declan Rice coming in between. All three retain their places in the starting line-up, with goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and left-back Aaron Cresswell coming in for the Hammers.

Matias Vina’s equaliser at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was his first goal for the Cherries, but the on-loan Roma full-back is on the bench for this game with a back injury. Adam Smith takes his place in the XI, with the attack spearheaded by Dominic Solanke, whose smart finish put Bournemouth 2-1 up in north London.

WEST HAM SUBS: Alphonse Areola, Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, Flynn Downes, Maxwel Cornet, Danny Ings, Angelo Ogbonna, Thilo Kehrer, Emerson.

WEST HAM (4-3-3): Lukasz Fabianski; Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Aaron Cresswell; Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta; Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio, Said Benrahma.

BOURNEMOUTH SUBS: Mark Travers, Lewis Cook, Dango Ouattara, Matias Vina, Kieffer Moore, Antoine Semenyo, Marcos Senesi, Illia Zabarnyi, Jaidon Anthony.

BOURNEMOUTH (3-4-2-1): Neto; Chris Mepham, Jack Stephens, Lloyd Kelly; Adam Smith, Joe Rothwell, Jefferson Lerma, Marcus Tavernier; Ryan Christie, Philip Billing; Dominic Solanke.

A 4-1 victory over Gent sent David Moyes’ West Ham into the last four of the UEFA Europa Conference League in midweek, while the Hammers have also had somewhat of an uptick in their Premier League form, winning two of their last four and holding league leaders Arsenal to a 2-2 draw last time out.

Sat 14th and 15th in the table respectively, just two points separate the Cherries and Hammers, with the latter three clear of the relegation zone. Bournemouth are currently on a two-match winning run, defeating Leicester 1-0 before an injury time winner from Dango Ouattara secured a 3-2 victory at Tottenham.

Hello, and welcome to live coverage of this Premier League fixture, as Bournemouth host West Ham in another crucial match at the bottom end of the table.

AFC Bournemouth v West Ham United Live Commentary, 23/04/2023

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