Wayne Rooney wanted West Ham star sent off for incident MOTD highlighted vs Bournemouth
West Ham were extremely fortunate not to see Max Kilman sent off against Bournemouth.
Bournemouth secured a 2-2 draw against West Ham on Saturday despite the away side taking a 2-0 lead after 35 minutes.
Callum Wilson netted a brace against Bournemouth to extend his personal tally in the fixture and continue his goalscoring form in claret and blue.
Nuno Espirito Santo has come under fire for arguably costing the Irons on the day, after taking off Wilson and Luis Guilherme early on against Bournemouth.
Things may well have turned out worse for the Hammers as Wayne Rooney was left baffled as to why Kilman wasn’t sent off at the Vitality.
Max Kilman should have been sent off vs Bournemouth, says Wayne Rooney
Travelling supporters of the London Stadium club were left fuming as their side threw away the lead away to the Cherries.
The centre-back was arguably to blame after Kilman gave away a penalty for handball against Bournemouth.
The 28-year-old had a total moment of madness as he made a sliding challenge before making contact on the ball with his hand.
Kilman slid away from Evanlison before scooping the ball away, halting the Brazilian from getting a shot away from just six yards out.
The Hammers defender didn’t receive a caution for the challenge, leaving Rooney confused while speaking via Match of the Day on 22 November.
He said: “He’s very lucky. He gets himself in a position where he’s trying to cover, and he slides past the player [Evanilson].
“As we see from this angle, you see a movement with his right hand towards the ball, and it’s a penalty, and it has to be a red card, he’s six yards out. It’s a clear goal-scoring opportunity, so it baffles me that it isn’t a red card.”
What was Kilman thinking for West Ham?
Watching the incident over and over again really doesn’t help to understand what Kilman ever thought would come from punching the ball away inside the box.
His slide on a wet surface went against him and would have left Evanilson through on goal unopposed.
Alphonse Areola was in terrific form at the Vitality, so he should have been left to make an effort towards saving an effort from the striker.
Instead, his teammate made a baffling call to punch the ball away, and as Rooney says, really should have been sent off for the privilege.
Nuno may have some blame to shoulder for his substitutions, but he was certainly let down by a moment of madness from someone as experienced as Kilman.
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