A resilient Fulham outfit proved a tough nut to crack for West Ham but Julen Lopetegui’s side found late salvation to take a point from the banks of the Thames.
Both London sides looked fresh from the international break with end-to-end action in the opening 10 minutes. Tomas Soucek couldn’t make the most of a move made possible by some neat Michail Antonio footwork while a careless Edson Alvarez gifted Andreas Pereira the chance to fire a feeble shot from distance at the other end.
Tempers at the Cottage flared early as the blistering Adama Traore burst past the Hammers’ back line and into the penalty box, only to go to ground with Max Kilman breathing down his neck. Fulham boss Marco Silva led the protestations, and saw yellow for his antics, as VAR deemed the coming together to not be clear and obvious.
Spurred on by the injustice, the hosts forced Hammers backs against the wall with a breakthrough coming via a Raul Jimenez tap in after Emile Smith-Rowe made a clever run through the visitors’ defence.
Julen Lopetegui turned to the bench at half time with Crysencio Summerville and Lucas Paqueta coming on to breathe new life into the Hammers’ frontline – the former managing an immediate impact as he skipped through the Fulham defence and was brought down by Sasa Lukic, a yellow card ensuing.
With Jarrod Bowen down the middle, West Ham were invigorated by the changes. The England international soon found himself with a half chance in the box and caused Joachim Andersen problems.
It was Bowen who helped forge a late equaliser for the Hammers, cutting back into the path of Danny Ings, who tucked home deep into injury time.
Here’s how the West Ham players rated against Fulham.
GK – Alphonse Areola – 6
Fulham dominated large parts but didn’t really cause the shot-stopper too many problems. Will be frustrated by the comedy of errors in front of him for the home side’s goal.
LB – Emerson – 5
Had a physicality mismatch in the battle with Adama Traore. Picked up an injury in the second half and couldn’t shake it off before being replaced by Vladimir Coufal.
CB – Max Kilman – 6
Looked assured early on when dealing with Adama and enjoyed an early burst forward from defence. Perhaps lucky not to have been penalised for clipping the winger in the penalty box in the first half
CB – Konstantinos Mavropanos – 6
Could have been more alert for the Jimenez goal but won’t shoulder the most guilt for that.
RB – Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 5
Was wary of Alex Iwobi and rightfully so, struggling to push forwards from defence himself. Looked relieved when switched to the left, not that keeping track of an inspired Adama was done that convincingly.
CDM – Edson Alvarez – 3
Not the midfielder’s finest day. Sloppy early on and didn’t really manage to shake that despite enthusiasm – somewhat of a bull in a china shop. A misplaced pass early on presented Pereira with a decent opportunity and Alvarez was ghosted past by Smith-Rowe ahead of Jimenez’s goal. Booked in the second half for a nasty challenge on Andersen.