All 63 words Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards said about West Ham vs Bournemouth on Match of the Day
West Ham played out a 0-0 draw with Bournemouth that benefitted neither side on Saturday.
The Cherries will certainly be the happier of the two teams as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side dominated large periods, but they were unable to find a way past goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
Crysencio Summerville, Jarrod Bowen and Taty Castellanos all came close to breaking the deadlock, but they were ultimately left frustrated as they missed the chance to go level on points with 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards didn’t have much to say about the uneventful affair at the London Stadium, but they were still left impressed by West Ham’s performance despite not securing maximum points.
Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards highlight promising signs for West Ham
Andoni Iraola’s side came to E20 unbeaten in six top-flight matches, and it was always going to be a hard-fought game between both teams.
However, the Hammers were far superior for large parts of the match, but they couldn’t find a way to finish their chances.
According to Sofascore, West Ham had 16 shots from inside the box against the Cherries, and the result certainly wasn’t fair based on the balance of the game.
| West Ham | Stat | Bournemouth |
| 3.27 | xG | 0.35 |
| 20 | Shots | 10 |
| 3 | Big chances missed | 0 |
| 9 | Corners | 5 |
Speaking on Match of the Day on 21 February, Rooney was impressed with West Ham’s performance, but reiterated how gutted they’ll feel to miss out on all three points.
He said: “They were very unlucky not to win the game. The form over recent weeks has been very good, and there’s surely some encouragement for Nuno.
“But these are the games they have to win if they want to stay in the Premier League.”
Richards added: “It’s always going to be difficult, but they were much more solid defensively, and that’s a good platform for them.”
Although the Bournemouth draw was another sign that Nuno is taking the team in the right direction, they are also running out of time to avoid relegation to the Championship.
- Read more: Crysencio Summerville electric, Taty Castellanos unlucky – West Ham player ratings vs Bournemouth
West Ham’s next five games could define their Premier League status
The Hammers will be hoping that Forest drop points against Liverpool on Sunday, who they then play at Anfield in their next game on 28 February.
That is followed by a trip to Fulham and a home clash against Man City, before they have to face Aston Villa away on 22 March.
After the March international break, West Ham host 20th-placed Wolves at the start of April, and their results during this tricky run of games will have a huge say on their survival hopes going into the last month of the season.
The London outfit have only lost one of their last six league matches, which shows how well they’ve turned matters around in the past four weeks.
However, it’s imperative they secure at least six points from this run of five games.
Otherwise, it could condemn them to their first season in the Championship since the 2011-12 season.
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