Bournemouth's substitute Enis Unal curled in a stunning last-minute free-kick to give his side a deserved point at the end of an open and entertaining clash with West Ham.
It looked as though Lukas Paqueta's controversial late penalty would give the Hammers victory but Unal stepped up to score a powerful shot past Lukasz Fabianski from fully 25 yards out.
Both teams hit the woodwork and exchanged numerous chances without being able to find a way past goalkeepers Kepa and Fabianski – who were in excellent form throughout the match.
But when referee Chris Kavanagh deemed Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross to have struck Bournemouth's Tyler Adams – after a VAR review – Paqueta held his nerve to put West Ham ahead.
The Brazilian ran to celebrate with under-pressure coach Julen Lopetegui, but moments later, a reckless challenge from Konstantinos Mavropanos awarded the home team a free kick.
Hang it in the Louvre 🎨 pic.twitter.com/9SO9wTQiid
– AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) December 16, 2024
Unal – who came on to replace Evanilson in the 80th minute – then curled the free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.
Bournemouth could have moved up to fifth place with victory, but will be concerned about the departure of key player Antoine Semenyu in the second half with an apparent injury.
“This is my distance!”
Kara and Henry analyze Unal's free kick 👏 pic.twitter.com/07VbGQszBb
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 16, 2024
Andoni Iraola's men climb above Aston Villa into the top six. West Ham remained in 14th place, after avoiding defeat in two consecutive league matches for only the third time this season.
The Cherries had 29 shots in the game – West Ham had 16 – but repeatedly failed to find the killer touch in front of goal.
Semenho and West Ham striker Jarrod Bowen hit the woodwork in the first half with shots from the edge of the penalty area as both sides posed a serious threat on the break.
Paqueta has yet to miss a penalty for the Hammers and thought they had won it but Bournemouth have scored more goals than any other team in the competition with Unal's stunning goal being his eighth.
