Craig Dawson headed in a late equaliser as West Ham United snatched a point in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
A cautious opening ten minutes ended with West Ham taking the lead when Jarrod Bowen hit his seventh goal in his last seven matches. The in-form forward ran onto Issa Diop’s long pass to thrash home the opener from inside the area. Having conceded their 40th goal in the last twenty matches in all competitions, Leicester showed little in attack as the murmurs of discontent and frustration grew around the King Power when Youri Tielemans and then Harvey Barnes sent hopeful shots wayward of the West Ham net. But, minutes before the break, Aaron Cresswell handled the ball in the area to allow Tielemans to drag the hosts level from the spot.
A far more energetic Leicester nearly took the lead in the second half when James Maddison fired over from the edge of the area, before Barnes’ shot flashed narrowly wide of the post. But, eventually, the hosts had their reward for a much better showing after the interval when Pereira powerfully headed them in front in the 57th minute, and the ‘Foxes’ almost had third when Tielemans whipped a shot narrowly over the bar from distance.
The introduction of Nikola Vlašić and Saïd Benrahma saw the Hammers push for an equaliser in the final ten minutes, with the latter sending a half-chance wide from 20 yards out before later stinging the palms of Kasper Schmeichel. Although they lacked attacking quality, the ‘Hammers’ pulled level late on when Dawson rose to head home from a corner.
West Ham stay fourth despite dropping points, but know they have missed a huge opportunity to assert their top-four credentials. Meanwhile, the ‘Foxes’ conceded an 11th goal from a corner in the Premier League this season, their set-piece Achilles heel proving to be their undoing once again.