Bournemouth simply don't know when they are beaten. Substitute Enes Unal curled an unstoppable free kick into the top corner, seconds after West Ham had taken an unlikely lead thanks to a controversial penalty. Other Bournemouth Substitute Tyler Adams was penalized for handling Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross from the right and Lucas Paquetá converted the subsequent penalty, awarded after a VAR review.
Lopetegui insisted the relief of a welcome home win over Wolves had been forgotten as West Ham targeted back-to-back league wins for the first time this season. The West Ham manager made two changes, one of them with Emerson suspended, so Wan-Bissaka moved to left back and Vladimir Coufal entered the starting lineup at right back. Lucas Paquetá, who has struggled for form, was a surprise inclusion in place of Crysencio Summerville.
West Ham players wore black armbands in tribute to their former academy goalkeeper Oscar Fairs, who died aged 15 and within nine minutes the visiting fans chanted the name of their number 9 Michail Antonio, who miraculously survived a car accident earlier this month. They visited Antonio, who is expected to be out for at least a year, in a London hospital over the weekend. A good touch from Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, who, despite being involved in a lively match, added to the applause that went around the stadium.
From the moment Ryan Christie overtook Mohammed Kudus by 13 seconds, this was a frenetic occasion. Milos Kerkez won Bournemouth an early corner at the end of one of his trademark marauders from the wing. Bournemouth had the first important opportunity: Antoine Semenyo sent a ball that bounced off a post in the 12th minute. The play arose from a ball from Kepa Arrizabalaga downfield. Semenyo beat Wan-Bissaka with a header, Evanilson beat Konstantinos Mavropanos and then Justin Kluivert headed the loose ball into the path of Semenyo, who stepped over the ball to shave the post with a right-footed shot. That opportunity seemed to shake West Ham. Just before the break, Lukasz Fabianski repelled a tame shot from Dango Ouattara at the far post.
Lopetegui was frustrated when West Ham, continuing the theme of recent weeks, failed to make the most of their opportunities. He turned on his heel when Jarrod Bowen sent a clever left-footed shot against the crossbar after the West Ham captain, with a pass from Kudus, had dropped Illia Zabarnyi and Lewis Cook to make room to send an effort on target. Bowen then forced another good save after Kudus whipped a cross towards the near post. Bowen's first touch took him away from Zabarnyi but left him with an awkward angle to play in, but he still forced an instinctive save.
Lopetegui arched his back after Carlos Soler, after controlling his right foot to elude Bournemouth captain Adam Smith, fired a shot that went wide of the far post. Soucek then sent a shot wide under pressure from Ouattara after Dean Huijsen and Kerkez failed to clear.
The second half was difficult to watch from West Ham's perspective. Bournemouth returned with their usual endearing intensity and West Ham had to withstand the pressure, surviving a few scares along the way. Ouattara saw an attempt, designed from a short corner routine, deflected two minutes after the restart and then Fabianski got a daisy cutter from Semenyo. Christie had no such problem with conviction, his stinging left-footed shot after a break from Evanilson leading to a right-footed save. The bad news for West Ham was that there were still more than 40 minutes to play.
Lopetegui seemed to notice and soon Niclas Füllkrug replaced the cautioned Soler. West Ham needed to stem the tide. Maximilian Kilman, who impressed as a centre-back, made a vital interception to cross and block Semenyo's shot after Bournemouth accelerated upwards, thanks to Evanilson's backheel. Zabarnyi then headed wide from a recycled corner. Meanwhile, West Ham's creative juices had dried up.
When West Ham got a glimpse of Bournemouth's goal in the second half, Zabarnyi quickly entered the scene to extinguish the danger. After Füllkrug managed a pass for Kudus, Zabarnyi threw his body to the ground to make a timely intervention. Fabianski made a good save at his front post to push Evanilson's header from Christie's corner to safety late on and West Ham focused on keeping the ball out, not attacking at the other end.
Lopetegui's switch to a back five, giving Ollie Scarles his first division debut and only second senior appearance, was indicative of the plan.
It looked like a dangerous game to play against a team with a habit of scoring late, as they had registered a league-high 10 goals in the final 15 minutes of games, including five in stoppage time. Substitute Enes Unal canceled out Paquetá's penalty with a powerful free kick from 30 meters that slipped into the top left corner.