Premier LeagueWest Ham United 0-0 AFC Bournemouth
Saturday, 21st February 2026
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread
You won’t see many better 0-0s than that, West Ham’s only stalemate of the season so far, but a fantastic game of football went by with The Hammers missing out on another huge opportunity for points they desperately, desperately need.
In a 90 minutes that started in chaos, mellowed out for 30 minutes and then went end-to-end for a frantic final half hour, it was West Ham who had the better chances and came the closest, but just couldn't find the right finish when the moments came.Bournemouth had their own chances to win it, none better than a breathtaking run from new signing and incredible young talent Rayan, and their willingness to attack at pace made it an enthralling contest. And yet, somehow, with two teams who rarely keep clean sheets and 30 shots on goal, and the home side with an xG of 3.27, it ended all square and 0-0.
It was breathless to watch, and the frantic pace saw players tiring in all areas of the pitch.
Nuno Esp?-rito Santo made one change to the team that drew with Manchester United in their last Premier League game, with Pablo's absence likely to continue for at least another month and Freddie Potts suspended for three games after a red card in the FA Cup. That meant a place for Soungoutou Magassa, and a continuation of a more standard 4-3-3. Disasi and Mavropanos continued in the heart of defence, with Todibo back from suspension but kept out of the side by a pair that have looked good together.
After a wonderful tribute to Ludo before the start of the game, the match itself went off at a chaotic pace. The Hammers won a corner inside 30 seconds and came about as close as they could to leading within a minute.
Bowen's corner was curled in at the front post and was met by Disasi, whose flicked header ricocheted off Truffert from three yards out, but stopped on the line by a fantastic reaction save by Petrovic. He could only push it out to Disasi, but the centre back was thwarted by Truffert, who threw out a leg and deflected the volley over the bar, saving a goal as the ball flew towards an empty net.
Minutes later, Castellanos and Soucek combined well to free the Argentine down the right wing. He delayed his cross cleverly, giving Summerville time to get into the box and then finding him with a wonderful curled ball around the last man. It bounced in front of the Dutch winger, but he just couldn't get the right connection, flicking it off his calf rather than foot and popping it right into the arms of Petrovic.
Straight down the other end, a counter from that chance saw Rayan smash a drive at Hermansen from 25 yards, a quick reminder that Bournemouth do everything at pace and will go direct at goal if given the space.
The Hammers had more of the sustained pressure at the start, but once the madness faded, it was Bournemouth who took control of possession. Jimenez the right back became the pantomime villain after a collision with Summerville, and his every touch was met with a chorus of boos.
The away side struggled to find ways through West Ham's settled shape, with the three in midfield a great wall in front of the defence. The chances all but dried up, with Castellanos meeting a corner and heading over the best of the attempts of goal.
Summerville did force a glimpse of an opening with a driving run through the middle to make his way to the edge of the box, but a rushed shot on his left was sent flying over, and soon the sides were in for half-time and still level.
The first 15 minutes of the second half were quiet, an innocuous looking but clearly incredibly painful injury for Mavropanos the only moment of note. The centre back brushed it off, and a third of the half went by with over 70% possession for the visitors and nothing to show for it.
But once the hour-mark came, everything opened up. From a game of chess, the rest became basketball as it flew from end-to-end at great pace.
The starting point was a run from Rayan that confirmed all the recent hype around him. The 19-year-old Brazilian arrived from Vasco da Gama at the end of January with barely little fanfare, but his displays have caught the eye in a way that proves young Brazilians can adapt quickly to the Premier League.
On this occasion, the right winger picked the ball up 20 yards inside his own half as Bournemouth looked for a counter, and the young forward provided one all by himself. Taty chased him as Fernandes closed him down, but the Portuguese was left standing as the Brazilian flicked it over his leg and strode past him.
With options inside, Rayan took it himself, drifting inside from the wing and galloping at goal in a way that the West Ham defence could do nothing to stop. He got to the edge of the box, centre of goal, and picked his spot, looking to curl to the far post and the top corner to Hermansen's right. It beat the goalkeeper, but with Hermansen left standing, only able to watch, he felt the relief of every West Ham fan in the stadium as the ball clipped the outside of the post and flew wide.
The game opened up, and it was clear the energy that has underpinned the uptick in West Ham's recent form and performances was starting to fade. No longer were Summerville and Bowen flying back to cover, and holes were opened up every time the visitors attacked, breaking with more players on multiple occasions. But as Bournemouth exploited that space, West Ham started to create chances with players higher up the pitch.
Castellanos nearly broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion, the Argentine competing for brilliance with the Brazilian Rayan. It was great work from Bowen down the right wing to get to the byline and cross into the box. It was behind Castellanos, but the striker flew into the air and made powerful connection with an acrobatic overhead kick.
It rocketed off his boot and Petrovic had no time to react, but the ball flew wide.
Seconds later, Bournemouth played their goal kick straight to Bowen, and he again drove down the wing. He delayed his cross and then struck it low into the middle, only for the ball to be flicked off the toe of Soucek just as it looked like the midfielder may have been there to prod in once again. It came back to Bowen, who rolled it to Magassa on the edge of the box, only for the midfielder to sky his chance.
Wilson was introduced, replacing Soucek, and West Ham went searching for a vital winner. The steady rain now was pouring down, but little could dampen the drama of this game.
One moment, Diouf was making a fantastic and crucial block at the far post as another sweeping Bournemouth counter led to a Rayan chance, the left back sliding early and blocking a great chance inside the West Ham box.
The next, the left back was delivering a dangerous cross to the front post that Wilson so nearly scored from. The veteran striker made a smart run across the front of his man to the near post, and his flick was on target, but found a good reaction save from Petrovic, who was having a man of the match performance.
Seconds later, Wilson had half a chance as Wan-Bissaka chipped into the box, the striker taking the bouncing ball first time on the swivel but volleying over.
Bournemouth went straight up the other end from the goal kick on the counter, but Scott fired right at Hermansen after a great run gave him space on the edge of the box.
The goalkeeper released quickly, and now it was West Ham on the attack. A cross was blocked but retrieved by Wilson, who laid off to Summerville. The winger danced himself into some space to shoot across goal, only for a big deflection to loop it up. Petrovic was beaten, and was grateful to watch the ball land on the top of his net. Wilson met the ball from the resulting corner, but could only head wide.
Tavernier was brought on from the Bournemouth bench, and immediately found joy in the spaces West Ham were leaving for players to run into. His first touch saw him lay off and immediately receive the ball again to run 50-60 yards right to the byline, only for the ball he squeezed across the face of goal to find nobody matching his run to take advantage.
Kante replaced a knackered, battered and bruised Magassa, who had performed well in the midfield, and with great energy to make late runs forward, and the game entered the final five minutes of normal time with both teams threatening to win it late.
For all of Bournemouth's pace and their ability to turn defence to attack in an instant, the home side finished with the better chances.
A bit of luck and a touch more composure and Summerville might have won it. After Kante won the ball well in midfield, Bowen gave it to Summerville on the edge of the area. He rolled it into Wilson's feet in the box and set off to receive the return pass, but Wilson delayed a second too long, and his pass was just behind Summerville, who ran out of space as he controlled the ball and saw his shot blocked wide.
It was the final seconds that gave the best chance.
A West Ham break saw Summerville dribbling forward some 50 yards before trying to play Wilson in. It missed the striker but rolled to the right of the box where Bowen was giving everything he had left to make it. He got there first, but his shot on the stretch was blasted over on his weaker right. Truffert caught him on the challenge, and it looked a possible penalty, but VAR quickly waved it away, because of course they did.
Bournemouth threw one last long throw into the box with all the time done, and that this is the first mention of a clear key tactic by Bournemouth shows just how well the once fragile West Ham defence dealt with the aerial bombardment. They cleared once against and the final whistle blew on a fantastic and wildly frustrating game of football.
There hasn't been a bad performance since kicking into life beating QPR in January, but these need to come with points. Were West Ham anywhere but the bottom three, the last two would have looked like decent draws against good and very much in-form sides. But West Ham are 18th, fighting to claw back Forest who are now just two points ahead of them, as well as the pack above.
With Leeds drawing at Aston Villa and Brighton finally finding a win, it looks more and more like it is the pair in 18th and 17th fighting to survive, and whilst a point closes the gap a little, a little might all be too late.
Manager's Rating
Nuno Espirito Santo: 6/10 A touch harsh, but he was slow on subs and probably could have used his bench more, with it very clear that players were tired. The setup, starting lineup and tactics were good, but it just seemed he wasn't quite giving his side everything they could to win as the game went on.
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Click to view all West Ham United vs AFC Bournemouth match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Mads HermansenSolid and unspectacular, but made the saves he needed to make and punched well on occasion when under pressure. A third clean sheet of the Premier League season for him and the club.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Faded drastically at the end, and probably should have been replaced, but defended well and gave a lot of support to attacks up the wing.
El Hadji Malick Diouf
One beautiful cross nearly forced a goal, and one brilliant block probably saved one. Defended Rayan reasonably well, won a lot in the air (7 aerial duels won), and whilst not as influential on the whole game as others, he did his part very well.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Just really solid today, did the basics well, although not his best game with his passing, with a few big diagonals that didn?EUR(TM)t need to be hit.
Axel Disasi
A calming figure next to Mavropanos, it?EUR(TM)s two clean sheets for him from three Premier League appearances at the club. That?EUR(TM)s two of the three West Ham have kept all season. Unlucky not to score, and clearly comfortable with the physicality of the league and dealing with balls into the box.
Soungoutou Magassa
Added energy and bite, and made good late runs forward that occupied Bournemouth?EUR(TM)s central defenders. He grows in confidence in games, starting to dribble more as he realises he can beat players. Looked hurt before going off, but still managed to make a decisive challenge in the box when hobbling with an injured groin, pushing through the pain to track Tavernier and stop him.
Mateus Fernandes
Quieter game for him, clearly given the more disciplined role in deeper midfield, likely as he?EUR(TM)s the only one with the pace to keep up with what Bournemouth do. He?EUR(TM)s also the best passer and can dictate well from there, but didn?EUR(TM)t find those long passes that have unlocked teams in recent games.
Tomas Soucek
He did tire compared to the other two in midfield and struggled with the pace of Bournemouth once it opened up, but another solid display.
Crysencio Summerville
He threatened and it?EUR(TM)s clear his confidence is up, but couldn?EUR(TM)t quite have the moments that have defined his recent games, and the big early chance was one he?EUR(TM)s been scoring lately. Still looks sharp, and he needs to stay that way as teams are currently scared of him.
Jarrod Bowen
Produced good crosses and excellent corners, but just couldn?EUR(TM)t quite find a breakthrough. Truffert defended him well, yet Bowen still had his moments and could have had a few assists on another day.
Taty Castellanos
Relentless worker, he was unlucky not to have an assist after a perfect cross for Summerville, as well as a few decent efforts himself. Moreover, he never stops running, and whilst he couldn?EUR(TM)t keep up with Rayan, it was a sight to see him stay on the winger?EUR(TM)s tail for 60 yards.
Substitutes
Callum Wilson(Soucek 72?EUR(TM)) Unlucky not to score, his instincts as a striker made the side more dangerous as he made the right runs and gave the defenders something different to contend with.
Mohamadou Kante
(Magassa 84?EUR(TM)) Won possession valuably in midfield on a couple occasions and showed good ambition to glide forward. Not overawed by the standard of the occasion and showed he?EUR(TM)s physically ready for it.
Alphonse Areola
Did not play.
Kyle Walker-Peters
Did not play.
Ollie Scarles
Did not play.
Ezra Mayers
Did not play.
Jean-Clair Todibo
Did not play.
Max Kilman
Did not play.
Adama Traore
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Mads Hermansen, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Axel Disasi, Soungoutou Magassa, Mateus Fernandes, Tomas Soucek, Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen, Taty Castellanos.Goals: None.
Booked: Tomas Soucek .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
AFC Bournemouth: Petrovic, Jimenez (Smith 89), Hill, Senesi (c), Truffert, Scott, Adams (Christie 66), Rayan, Evanilson (Tavernier 80), Adli (Brooks 66), Kroupi (Unal 89).
Subs not used: Mandas, Diakite, Milosavljevic, Toth.
Goals: .
Booked: Senesi.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Sam Barrott.
Attendance: 62,437.
Man of the Match: El Hadji Malick Diouf.