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West Ham United 1-1 Crystal Palace: Christian Benteke sent off at London Stadium

By Neil JohnstonBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section Premier Leaguecomments197

Christian Benteke heads Crystal Palace in front against West Ham at London Stadium
Christian Benteke cost Crystal Palace a club record £27m when he joined from Liverpool in August 2016

Sebastien Haller scored a spectacular equaliser with an overhead kick to earn West Ham a point against London rivals Crystal Palace.

Christian Benteke, who was later sent off, had put Palace on course for an away win at London Stadium with his third goal in as many games.

Benteke beat Issa Diop to Joel Ward's superb delivery to plant a diving header beyond Lukasz Fabianski.

But the Hammers levelled when Ivory Coast forward Haller showed wonderful technique to send an overhead kick beyond Vicente Guaita after meeting Vladimir Coufal's cross.

The £45m signing from Eintracht Frankfurt described it as a "special" goal, while West Ham boss David Moyes added: "One of my first games he scored a scissor kick. It's the tap-ins I want him to score as well.

"We need somebody to come up with the goods. We got a wondergoal from him, we really did."

Benteke, who had earlier caught Angelo Ogbonna with his elbow, was dismissed 20 minutes from time for a second yellow card for a similar offence on Tomas Soucek.

"It was a ludicrous decision," said Palace boss Roy Hodgson. "He only tried to use his arm for leverage and honestly win the ball.

"It's odd to sit here and say these things as if you're some monster who wants everything to go his way.

"Decisions like that are ruining the game."

Benteke's mixed fortunes

David Moyes disappointed with 'flat' West Ham performance

There were few clear-cut chances in a tightly fought London derby but Benteke showed he might be returning to his form of old - before he was dismissed by referee David Coote.

Having scored two in Palace's last away game at West Brom, he now has as many Premier League goals as he managed in the previous two seasons.

Benteke stood out in an energetic first-half display, scoring, creating another chance and having five attempts at goal.

He timed his run to perfection to meet Ward's delivery and send Palace into the lead.

But after Haller's equaliser Benteke's night took a turn for the worse when he was given his marching orders after catching Soucek, having already been booked for making contact with Ogbonna with his right elbow in the first half.

It means Benteke will miss the visit of his former club Liverpool to Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Moyes agreed with his opposite number Hodgson that the red card was harsh.

"I didn't think it was sending-off. If you jump then there's the fear of clashing of heads or flailing arms," said the Hammers boss.

Sebastien Halle equalised for West Ham against Crystal Palace with a spectacular overhead kick
Sebastien Halle scored his seventh goal of 2020-21 in all competitions

Hammers prove a point

Despite dropping two points and missing a chance to move into the top five, West Ham are approaching Moyes' first anniversary in good health.

The Hammers were 17th in the table, one point above relegation, when he returned to take charge for a second time on 30 December 2019.

Twelve months on and Moyes has put together a side that is hard to beat and boasts creative flare and a hard-working mentality.

They now have 21 points from 13 games, just 18 short of the total they managed for the whole of 2019-20.

Against a determined Palace side, West Ham struggled to hit the heights of last Friday's performance when they came from behind to win at Leeds, but once again they showed character to claw themselves back after falling behind.

Haller's goal was the highlight of the match, an exquisite finish which Vicente Guaita, Palace's hero against leaders Tottenham last Sunday, had no chance of keeping out.

Palace dig deep after Benteke setback

Christian Benteke red card difficult to accept - Roy Hodgson

Palace are in decent form as they get ready to host reigning champions Liverpool in the early kick-off on Saturday.

The worry for Roy Hodgson, who made three changes to freshen up his side, will be that his team have won only once in five games.

But just as they did against Spurs, they gave a good account of themselves against one of the Premier League's form teams.

Palace created the better chances in the first half and, after they took the lead, Andros Townsend set up a great chance for Benteke who was unable to finish.

After Benteke's dismissal, the visitors regrouped to frustrate West Ham, with Scott Dann and Cheikhou Kouyate particularly commanding at the back.

"The last three games, our attacking play has been particularly potent," added Hodgson. "We're getting some joy from it."

Goal and red card in the same game - the stats

  • Two of the past three occasions that a player has both scored and been sent off in a Premier League game have been Crystal Palace players - Christian Benteke today and Wilfried Zaha against Southampton in January 2019.
  • West Ham boss David Moyes has only been beaten once in eight Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace (W5 D2).
  • The Hammers have avoided defeat on each of the past three occasions they have conceded the first goal in a Premier League game.
  • Crystal Palace have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past 12 Premier League matches.

What's next?

West Ham are involved in another London derby next Monday when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League (20:00 GMT), while Crystal Palace host Liverpool at 12:30 GMT on Saturday.

Player of the match

CoufalVladimir Coufal

with an average of 7.91

West Ham United

  1. Squad number5Player nameCoufal
    Average rating

    7.91

  2. Squad number41Player nameRice
    Average rating

    7.13

  3. Squad number22Player nameHaller
    Average rating

    6.97

  4. Squad number28Player nameSoucek
    Average rating

    6.83

  5. Squad number20Player nameBowen
    Average rating

    6.79

  6. Squad number10Player nameLanzini
    Average rating

    6.60

  7. Squad number1Player nameFabianski
    Average rating

    6.56

  8. Squad number21Player nameOgbonna
    Average rating

    6.53

  9. Squad number3Player nameCresswell
    Average rating

    6.29

  10. Squad number9Player nameBenrahma
    Average rating

    6.23

  11. Squad number23Player nameDiop
    Average rating

    5.75

  12. Squad number7Player nameYarmolenko
    Average rating

    5.71

  13. Squad number11Player nameSnodgrass
    Average rating

    5.49

  14. Squad number18Player nameFornals
    Average rating

    5.42

Crystal Palace

  1. Squad number10Player nameTownsend
    Average rating

    7.04

  2. Squad number20Player nameBenteke
    Average rating

    7.01

  3. Squad number25Player nameEze
    Average rating

    6.85

  4. Squad number8Player nameKouyaté
    Average rating

    6.85

  5. Squad number31Player nameGuaita
    Average rating

    6.72

  6. Squad number2Player nameWard
    Average rating

    6.56

  7. Squad number6Player nameDann
    Average rating

    6.38

  8. Squad number3Player namevan Aanholt
    Average rating

    6.33

  9. Squad number18Player nameMcArthur
    Average rating

    6.22

  10. Squad number11Player nameZaha
    Average rating

    6.03

  11. Squad number4Player nameMilivojevic
    Average rating

    5.91

  12. Squad number15Player nameSchlupp
    Average rating

    5.71

  13. Squad number9Player nameJ Ayew
    Average rating

    5.68

Line-ups

West Ham

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Fabianski
  • 5Coufal
  • 23Diop
  • 21Ogbonna
  • 3Cresswell
  • 41Rice
  • 28Soucek
  • 20BowenSubstituted forYarmolenkoat 80'minutes
  • 9BenrahmaSubstituted forSnodgrassat 88'minutes
  • 18FornalsSubstituted forLanziniat 45'minutes
  • 22Haller

Substitutes

  • 7Yarmolenko
  • 10Lanzini
  • 11Snodgrass
  • 15Dawson
  • 16Noble
  • 24Fredericks
  • 35Randolph

Crystal Palace

Formation 4-4-2

  • 31Guaita
  • 2Ward
  • 8Kouyaté
  • 6Dann
  • 3van Aanholt
  • 10TownsendSubstituted forSchluppat 85'minutes
  • 4MilivojevicBooked at 75mins
  • 18McArthur
  • 25EzeSubstituted forJ Ayewat 76'minutes
  • 20BentekeBooked at 70mins
  • 11Zaha

Substitutes

  • 1Butland
  • 5Tomkins
  • 9J Ayew
  • 15Schlupp
  • 23Batshuayi
  • 27Mitchell
  • 44Riedewald
Referee:
David Coote

Match Stats

Home TeamWest HamAway TeamCrystal Palace
Possession
Home52%
Away48%
Shots
Home9
Away8
Shots on Target
Home2
Away2
Corners
Home5
Away3
Fouls
Home8
Away12

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, West Ham United 1, Crystal Palace 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, West Ham United 1, Crystal Palace 1.

  3. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Scott Dann (Crystal Palace) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Luka Milivojevic with a cross.

  4. Post update

    Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Angelo Ogbonna.

  5. Post update

    Attempt missed. Sébastien Haller (West Ham United) header from the centre of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Vladimir Coufal with a cross.

  6. Post update

    Attempt missed. Declan Rice (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Manuel Lanzini.

  7. Post update

    Foul by Vladimir Coufal (West Ham United).

  8. Post update

    Jeffrey Schlupp (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  9. Substitution

    Substitution, West Ham United. Robert Snodgrass replaces Saïd Benrahma.

  10. Post update

    Foul by Tomas Soucek (West Ham United).

  11. Post update

    Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  12. Substitution

    Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jeffrey Schlupp replaces Andros Townsend.

  13. Post update

    Foul by Issa Diop (West Ham United).

  14. Post update

    Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  15. Post update

    Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Scott Dann.

  16. Substitution

    Substitution, West Ham United. Andriy Yarmolenko replaces Jarrod Bowen.

  17. Post update

    Attempt missed. Sébastien Haller (West Ham United) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Vladimir Coufal with a cross.

  18. Substitution

    Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jordan Ayew replaces Eberechi Eze.

  19. Post update

    Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Scott Dann.

  20. Booking

    Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

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197 comments

  • Comment posted by The Eagle, at 21:59 16 Dec 2020

    Brilliant competitive game largely ruined by awful officiating - how is it possible to jump without using your arms?

    Both teams played really well though, cracking West Ham goal!

  • Comment posted by CG91, at 22:33 16 Dec 2020

    Coufal has been fantastic since joining. Not a glamorous role so going under the radar, but for £4m in today's crazy prices, what a bargain.

    • Reply posted by Iron Magpie, at 22:44 16 Dec 2020

      Iron Magpie replied:
      Shhhhh...we are trying to keep him a secret....;-)

  • Comment posted by CCBaxter, at 22:22 16 Dec 2020

    At least the West Ham players demonstrate a sense of belief in themselves nowadays; Palace are one of the Hammers' many bogey teams and in the past would've struggled to equalise. I say persevere with Haller and DO NOT sell Rice or Soucek.

    • Reply posted by Smudge, at 22:27 16 Dec 2020

      Smudge replied:
      I’m Palace, and could not believe you got rid of Tomkins.. great player.. I agree don’t make the same decision with Soucek.. great, no matter who went against him from us.. he made the difference.. going forward, especially after the poor sending off Rice was excellent 👍

  • Comment posted by mum of margaret, at 22:03 16 Dec 2020

    The goal was out of the blue but what a goal!

    Apart from that, I didn't think we did much. Perhaps a good sign in the sense my expectations have grown.

    Draw a fair result.

    As always 'Up the Hammers!'

  • Comment posted by jimbob69, at 22:33 16 Dec 2020

    As a hammer this was one game I was dreading due to palaces quick attackers. We were poor tonight and palace were very good in the first half and bossed the game. Harsh sending off if I’m honest so a point is probably fair. We didn’t capitalise on the extra man, but credit them for seeing the game out. Coufal outstanding for us at right back....onto the next game

  • Comment posted by TwistedTwiglet, at 22:07 16 Dec 2020

    Good game that. Fair result played out and contested fairly by both sides. Great goal by Haller. The ref was the only poor performer out there. He was diabolical all game. GL for the rest of the season Hammers. PTID

    • Reply posted by Zakariyau Lawal, at 05:27 17 Dec 2020

      Zakariyau Lawal replied:
      What is GL and PTID?😄

  • Comment posted by AndyB, at 22:37 16 Dec 2020

    That was an amazing goal, shame it was against us.
    Draw fair result in the end, Palace better 1st half West Ham 2nd.
    Benteke sending off was harsh, generally the standard of refereeing in the Premier League seems to be getting worse.
    Two former premier league refs have recently said they feel the standard of refereeing has fallen.

    • Reply posted by Nifty, at 02:29 17 Dec 2020

      Nifty replied:
      No crowds to let the refs know when they're making rubbish decisions.

  • Comment posted by Raedwulf, at 21:57 16 Dec 2020

    Wow! Worldie equaliser! Sending off was a bit... Arguable, let's say. I've no real opinion one way or t'other. But a draw seems fair dibs for both sides in the end.

  • Comment posted by Kevin, at 22:15 16 Dec 2020

    The club need to back Moyes in the transfer market as he has proved he signs good players that improve the team. Hope Antonio gets back fit soon as he gives the team a very good target man, links play well and proved to be a good finisher. Great season so far and hopefully will finish in the top 8 or higher. COYI

  • Comment posted by Jammy, at 22:17 16 Dec 2020

    Good game, brilliant West Ham goal but spoilt by poor referee decisions.

  • Comment posted by U19254867, at 22:00 16 Dec 2020

    Moyes was ridiculed when he took over at West Ham for saying “Winning - it’s what I do”.
    No one’s laughing now...he’s proved all the haters wrong!

    • Reply posted by DaveP1982, at 22:11 16 Dec 2020

      DaveP1982 replied:
      He's lost more than he's won!!

  • Comment posted by nic21, at 22:38 16 Dec 2020

    Ridiculous Benteke sending off spoiled a really interesting game. Palace the better side so will take a point. Coufal is going straight into my fantasy team so probably the last match we will see him play well for a while..

  • Comment posted by the_chosen_family, at 05:14 17 Dec 2020

    This has got to be one of the best and polite football HYS in living memory
    Palace always but a salute to the West Ham guys on here tonight
    Class!

    • Reply posted by jimbob69, at 07:31 17 Dec 2020

      jimbob69 replied:
      I’ll always admit if the opposition played well and deserved something and you boys did. Never a sending off and you outplayed us first half. Good game and shame the ref was once again in the spotlight

  • Comment posted by dave h, at 22:13 16 Dec 2020

    I wonder if Mr Coote ever played football? Or is he just blind.

  • Comment posted by Smudge, at 21:57 16 Dec 2020

    Never a sending off.. both.. looking at ball.. no movement towards player.. terrible decision..

    • Reply posted by Mark, at 06:34 17 Dec 2020

      Mark replied:
      Problem is, he’s booked him for the same thing in the first half and probably shouldn’t have so he has no choice then to give him a second yellow for the same thing. It’s a nonsense really, you literally can’t jump without using your arms and it should only be a yellow if the arm is bent in my opinion...then again I’m not a professional, incompetent referee😊

  • Comment posted by Raymondo, at 00:24 17 Dec 2020

    Have to say I thought David Moyes interview after the match was refreshingly honest. He's said a few times that he felt the team weren't playing well - after the Fulham game for example. I suspect he's reasonably happy with a point tonight. The sending off spoilt the game, though as we Hammers know, Palace are a team that often turn us over. Desperately missing Antonio, missing his goal threat...

  • Comment posted by sunshineeagle, at 22:01 16 Dec 2020

    Decent game and fair result sending off bit harsh how do you jump for a ball without your arms going up.
    At least no rubbish VAR for a change

    • Reply posted by Stevo60, at 22:05 16 Dec 2020

      Stevo60 replied:
      The fact he swung his arm was the telling factor, arms go up when you jump, Benteke was doing an open air Butterfly stroke, agree a fair result and Hallers goal was class.

  • Comment posted by LeggyBlonde75, at 21:57 16 Dec 2020

    Shocker from the ref. Ruined a good game.

  • Comment posted by claretvolcanoes, at 22:00 16 Dec 2020

    He’s a bit chalk and cheese but when Haller scores, they are often spectacular. Overhead kicks a bit of a speciality of his

  • Comment posted by The moose, at 23:59 16 Dec 2020

    How refreshing to read sensible comments from both sides. When are we going to hear the refs explain themselves after a game. 11 v 11 would have been a good game but as with the earlier game it becomes dull and boring

    • Reply posted by Horsham, at 06:48 17 Dec 2020

      Horsham replied:
      had the same thought... refreshing... i guess it is mostly true fans that support mid-table teams... bit of slagging a bit later but even that is relatively constructive (i.e. if you've played football then you should know you can't win a ball jumping like a pogo stick)...

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