Late heartbreak for Hammers against Palace
Michael Olise scored a 93rd minute winner to condemn West Ham to a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
The French winger cut in from the right flank and sent an effort towards goal, which looped over Lukasz Fabianski and into the back of the net.
It was a poor game played in the pouring rain at the London Stadium, and the Hammers were not really deserving of a point, if truth be told.
Said Benrahma scored a brilliant opener, slamming the ball into the top corner from 20 yards from Lucas Paqueta’s pass, just 13 minutes in.
On 40 minutes, though, a defensive calamity gave Palace an equaliser. The ball was played to Thilo Kehrer at right-back but he was robbed by Eberechi Eze, who fed Wilfried Zaha, who scored.
The Hammers did think they had a penalty in the 82nd minute, when Mikey Antonio went down under Marc Guehi’s challenge, but while the referee pointed to the spot, he was overruled by VAR.
And Olise found time in injury time to bend a ball into the top corner, giving Palace three points.
It was a heartbreaking way for the Hammers to lose, but it was another game in which they simply didn’t have the quality in the final third required to win the game.