Sebastien Haller scored a spectacular equaliser with an overhead kick to earn West Ham a point against London rivals Crystal Palace.
Christian Benteke, who was later sent off, had put Palace on course for an away win at London Stadium with his third goal in as many games.
Benteke beat Issa Diop to Joel Ward’s superb delivery to plant a diving header beyond Lukasz Fabianski.
But the Hammers levelled when Ivory Coast forward Haller showed wonderful technique to send an overhead kick beyond Vicente Guaita after meeting Vladimir Coufal’s cross.
The £45m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt in July 2019 described it as a “special” goal, while West Ham boss David Moyes added: “One of my first games he scored a scissor kick. It’s the tap-ins I want him to score as well.
“We need somebody to come up with the goods. We got a wondergoal from him, we really did.”
Benteke, who had earlier caught Angelo Ogbonna with his elbow, was dismissed 20 minutes from time for a second yellow card for a similar offence on Tomas Soucek.
“It was a ludicrous decision,” said Palace boss Roy Hodgson. “He only tried to use his arm for leverage and honestly win the ball.
“It’s odd to sit here and say these things as if you’re some monster who wants everything to go his way.
“Decisions like that are ruining the game of football.”
Benteke’s mixed fortunes
There were few clear-cut chances in a tightly fought London derby but Benteke showed he might be returning to his form of old – before he was dismissed by referee David Coote.
Having scored two in Palace’s last away game at West Brom, he now has as many Premier League goals as he managed in the previous two seasons.
Benteke stood out in an energetic first-half display, scoring, creating a chance and having five attempts at goal.
He timed his run to perfection to meet Ward’s delivery and send Palace into the lead.
But after Haller’s equaliser Benteke’s night took a turn for the worse when he was given his marching orders after catching Soucek, having already been booked for making contact with Ogbonna with his right elbow in the first half.
It means Benteke will miss the visit of his former club Liverpool to Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Moyes agreed with his opposite number Hodgson that the red card was harsh.
“I didn’t think it was sending-off. If you jump then there’s the fear of clashing of heads or flailing arms,” said the Hammers boss.
Hammers prove a point
Despite dropping two points and missing a chance to move into the top five, West Ham are approaching Moyes’ first anniversary in good health.
The Hammers were 17th in the table, one point above relegation, when he returned to take charge for a second time on 30 December 2019.
Twelve months on and Moyes has put together a side that is hard to beat and boasts creative flare and a hard-working mentality.
They now have 21 points from 13 games, just 18 short of the total they managed for the whole of 2019-20.
Against a determined Palace side, West Ham struggled to hit the heights of last Friday’s performance when they came from behind to win at Leeds, but once again they showed character to claw themselves back after falling behind.
Haller’s goal was the highlight of the match, an exquisite finish which Vicente Guaita, Palace’s hero against leaders Tottenham last Sunday, had no chance of keeping out.
Palace dig deep after Benteke setback
Palace are in decent form as they get ready to host reigning champions Liverpool in the early kick-off on Saturday.
The worry for Roy Hodgson, who made three changes to freshen up his side, will be that his team have won only once in five games.
But just as they did against Spurs, they gave a good account of themselves against one of the Premier League’s form teams.
Palace created the better chances in the first half and, after they took the lead, Andros Townsend set up a great chance for Benteke who was unable to finish.
After Benteke’s dismissal, the visitors regrouped to frustrate West Ham, with Scott Dann and Cheikhou Kouyate particularly commanding at the back.
“The last three games, our attacking play has been particularly potent,” added Hodgson. “We’re getting some joy from it.”
Goal and red card in the same game – the stats
- Two of the past three occasions that a player has both scored and been sent off in a Premier League game have been Crystal Palace players – Christian Benteke today and Wilfried Zaha against Southampton in January 2019.
- West Ham boss David Moyes has only been beaten once in eight Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace (W5 D2).
- The Hammers have avoided defeat on each of the past three occasions they have conceded the first goal in a Premier League game.
- Crystal Palace have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past 12 Premier League matches.
What’s next?
West Ham are involved in another London derby next Monday when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League (20:00 GMT), while Crystal Palace host Liverpool at 12:30 GMT on Saturday.
Player of the match
CoufalVladimir Coufal
West Ham United
Squad number5Player nameCoufal
Squad number41Player nameRice
Squad number22Player nameHaller
Squad number28Player nameSoucek
Squad number20Player nameBowen
Squad number10Player nameLanzini
Squad number1Player nameFabianski
Squad number21Player nameOgbonna
Squad number3Player nameCresswell
Squad number9Player nameBenrahma
Squad number23Player nameDiop
Squad number7Player nameYarmolenko
Squad number11Player nameSnodgrass
Squad number18Player nameFornals
Crystal Palace
Squad number10Player nameTownsend
Squad number20Player nameBenteke
Squad number25Player nameEze
Squad number8Player nameKouyaté
Squad number31Player nameGuaita
Squad number2Player nameWard
Squad number6Player nameDann
Squad number3Player namevan Aanholt
Squad number18Player nameMcArthur
Squad number11Player nameZaha
Squad number4Player nameMilivojevic
Squad number15Player nameSchlupp
Squad number9Player nameJ Ayew
Line-ups
West Ham
- 1Fabianski
- 5Coufal
- 23Diop
- 21Ogbonna
- 3Cresswell
- 41Rice
- 28Soucek
- 20BowenSubstituted forYarmolenkoat 80′minutes
- 9BenrahmaSubstituted forSnodgrassat 88′minutes
- 18FornalsSubstituted forLanziniat 45′minutes
- 22Haller
Substitutes
- 7Yarmolenko
- 10Lanzini
- 11Snodgrass
- 15Dawson
- 16Noble
- 24Fredericks
- 35Randolph
Crystal Palace
- 31Guaita
- 2Ward
- 8Kouyaté
- 6Dann
- 3van Aanholt
- 10TownsendSubstituted forSchluppat 85′minutes
- 4MilivojevicBooked at 75mins
- 18McArthur
- 25EzeSubstituted forJ Ayewat 76′minutes
- 20BentekeBooked at 70mins
- 11Zaha
Substitutes
- 1Butland
- 5Tomkins
- 9J Ayew
- 15Schlupp
- 23Batshuayi
- 27Mitchell
- 44Riedewald
Live Text
Match ends, West Ham United 1, Crystal Palace 1.
Second Half ends, West Ham United 1, Crystal Palace 1.
Attempt blocked. Scott Dann (Crystal Palace) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Luka Milivojevic with a cross.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Angelo Ogbonna.
Attempt missed. Sébastien Haller (West Ham United) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Vladimir Coufal with a cross.
Attempt missed. Declan Rice (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Manuel Lanzini.
Foul by Vladimir Coufal (West Ham United).
Jeffrey Schlupp (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, West Ham United. Robert Snodgrass replaces Saïd Benrahma.
Foul by Tomas Soucek (West Ham United).
Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jeffrey Schlupp replaces Andros Townsend.
Foul by Issa Diop (West Ham United).
Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Scott Dann.
Substitution, West Ham United. Andriy Yarmolenko replaces Jarrod Bowen.
Attempt missed. Sébastien Haller (West Ham United) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Vladimir Coufal with a cross.
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jordan Ayew replaces Eberechi Eze.
Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Scott Dann.
Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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