Phillips’ move to West Ham has received plenty of column inches in recent days, yet the on-loan Manchester City man made the worst possible start to his Hammers career.
Inside three minutes, the England international’s loose pass presented Dominic Solanke with a simple unchallenged finish, and although the whistle initially interrupted Bournemouth’s celebrations, VAR stepped in to award the goal.
The Cherries were on top for much of the first half, forcing West Ham into mistakes and testing Alphonse Areola on multiple occasions before the visitors left the field to a chorus of boos at HT.
A lackadaisical West Ham performance was in desperate need of some attacking intent after the restart, and with the hour mark approaching, the home fans got their wish.
A direct run from Mohammed Kudus was illegally halted by Lloyd Kelly, eventually leading to a penalty after a VAR check, which James Ward-Prowse duly converted.
A more evenly contested half was unfolding at the London Stadium, yet the visitors maintained an attacking threat, coming close when Ryan Christie displayed excellent ball control on the spin before stroking an effort narrowly wide.
Seemingly, neither side were content to settle for a point, but after a slow start, West Ham recovered to claim a share of the spoils and extend their unbeaten H2H run to six matches (W3, D3), leaving David Moyes’ side seven points off fifth-placed Aston Villa directly above them.
Meanwhile, Andoni Iraola’s side have now taken 14 points from their 11 away league games (W4, D2, L5), scoring 18 times in the process. Another point lifts Bournemouth to 12th in the PL table, eight points clear of the drop with their sights firmly set on the sides above them.
