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West Ham host Liverpool on Sunday. | Getty Images
Nuno Espirito Santo was lucky to see his West Ham side finish the draw against AFC Bournemouth with 11 players on the pitch.
West Ham should not have £40 million centre-back Max Kilman available to face Liverpool on Sunday according to Premier League legend Wayne Rooney.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side picked up a point with a 2-2 draw against AFC Bournemouth but were perhaps lucky not to finish the game with 10 men. Kilman gave away a penalty in the 69th minute for a handball having been over-eager when committing to a slide tackle.
Marcus Tavernier scored the resulting penalty to make it 2-1 and kick start the Cherries comeback, but Andoni Iraola believed that Kilman should also have been sent off for that infringement.
Andoni Iraola fuming at missed red card against West Ham
Speaking after the game, he said: "I don't understand the referee decision to not send him off. They told me it is not a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity.
"If that is not it, I don't know what is. I cannot even understand it. It is the clearest chance you can give to a number nine. I was not happy at all with the decision."
Kilman was outshone by the likes of Jean-Clair Todibo and Alphonse Areola at the Vitality Stadium with the former Wolves man rated a 4/10 for his efforts by Claret and Hugh. The outlet wrote: “Probably produced the best bit of skill in the first half as he dribbled out of defence. Vital header off the line in the second half. Ridiculous handball gave Bournemouth a penalty as the Hammers got deeper and deeper. Too weak for Bournemouth’s equaliser.”
West Ham are now unbeaten in their last three Premier League matches ahead of facing Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. Nuno is a little lucky to have Kilman, who has played 90 minutes in every league fixture so far this term, available.
Wayne Rooney: Kilman is ‘very lucky’
Reacting to the penalty on Match of the Day, former Manchester United man Rooney said: “He's very lucky. I think he gets himself in a position where he's trying to cover and he slides past the player. And as we see on this angle here, 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 that's not a red card.”
A straight red card for a deliberate handball would have seen Kilman suspended for the meeting with Liverpool next weekend. The defender has never been shown a red card in his 260 games of professional football so far in his career.
Reacting to his team’s performance at Bournemouth, Nuno said: “It's a very tough place to come. The first half was us - we took advantage of the straight ball, of the second ball, we managed the tempo of the game, we managed to control Bournemouth, and we achieved a good lead.
“In the second half, Bournemouth did exactly the same that we did [in the first]. They managed better the circumstances of the game, we couldn't go out, they put us against the ropes, they engaged five players in the last line.
“The boys were organised but were missing the pass to go out of pressure, to really hurt them with space, under tough circumstances. But the positive is that I think the team was resilient, was organised, was compact and was really committed.”
In other news, What Andoni Iraola said about 'incredible' West Ham star's 9/10 performance against Bournemouth.
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