West Ham 1 – 0 Fulham

Ademola Lookman had a terrible Panenka penalty attempt saved in the last minute as Fulham slid into a 1-0 loss at West Ham.

The game came to life in injury time when Tomas Soucek shot home, but Fulham received a respite in his last attack when the VAR awarded a penalty for a foul on Tom Cairney.

After Aleksandar Mitrovic missed his previous penalty at Sheffield United, Lookman took responsibility, but Lukas Fabianski read his weak and chipped penalty.

Lookman was inconsolable on the full-time whistle when his team made a determined show but went without points.

David Moyes’s men created the best starts with Sebastien Haller and Aaron Cresswell hitting the bar, but overall it was a weak performance from the hosts.

How the duff of Lookman knocked out Fulham

Fulham had not won any of their last 16 London derbies in the Premier League, losing 15, so they owed something to their fans watching from home. However, it was the Hammers who started with all the biting and incisive play that should have given up the opening goal.

Arthur Masuaku was repelled at the back post by Alphonse Areola, who then had to show his skills in stopping shots to negate a thunderous effort from Cresswell to hit the net.

From the next corner, Haller soared higher, but his powerful header hit the crossbar and he was safe. It looked like it could be a long night for Fulham at the time, but they settled into the game with Cairney pulling the strings just behind Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Cairney fired a shot through the goal that had no catchers in the 18th minute, while Mitrovic failed to take advantage of a free header off the back post moments later.

Jarrod Bowen was the next player to throw a header opportunity, guiding him almost behind him from just 10 yards after a good ball from Cresswell.

As at the start of the first half, West Ham came out after the break with a fast pace in their game and Cresswell launched a majestic free kick from the edge of the area to the crossbar.

Pablo Fornals fired a deflected shot before Hammers boss Moyes turned to Said Benrahma from the bench for the final 25 minutes.

His impact was minimal though, as Fulham enjoyed his best spell of the second period when Fabianski faced a shot from Lookman, and moments later the Pole crouched sharply to deny Bobby Decordova-Reid.

The West Ham spark was missing, but they put the all-important opener on the clock in injury time when Benrahma rolled the ball into Soucek’s path and he fired home.

Fulham threw caution to the wind in the final minutes and Cairney took a foul from Benrahma that was originally missed by referee Rob Jones but detected by VAR.

Lookman stepped up, but he softened his lines in an extraordinary way to let West Ham get out of trouble and leave his manager livid on the touchline.

Parker: Lookman needs to learn

Scott Parker, Fulham coach:

“My emotions are disappointment, a bit angry. He’s a young player and when you’re young you make mistakes. And you need to learn from them. That’s where Ade is tonight.

“Anyone can miss a penalty, but if you decide to take a penalty like that, you have to hit the back of the net. He needs to understand that. He has been fantastic since he was here. We will see his character now as he will have to dust himself off, he needs to learn.

“If you miss a penalty like that, you show yourself well. He gets it, he’s disappointed more than anyone.

“He will recover, he is an incredible and professional character.”

Analysis: Why did Mitrovic not sanction?

Lewis Jones of Sky Sports:

After 92 minutes of mundane football, injury time in West Ham’s clash against Fulham made up for it.

It was soccer at its crazy best. Soucek appeared to have stolen points from West Ham, but an overturned penalty decision by VAR allowed Fulham one last kick to catch what would have been a well deserved draw. Now, I don’t need to waste time analyzing or directing more attention to poor guy Lookman – he was wrong, you know.

But wasn’t it a bit strange that Mitrovic wasn’t taking the penalty? Yes, he missed one at Sheffield United, but Parker confirmed in his post-match press conference that the Serbian forward was still the first receiver, but was “injured” when it came to taking a step up, with a problem in the hamstring. Would such an injury stop Alan Shearer or Harry Kane in the same situation? I do not think so. Perhaps Mitrovic scoring with just three of his last 77 shots in the Premier League had something more to do with it than a tight hammer.

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• West Ham are undefeated in their last 11 home league games against Fulham (seven wins and four draws), with the Hammers currently on a four-game winning streak, the longest since a five-game streak between September 1953 and September. from 1957.
• West Ham manager David Moyes is undefeated in his 14 Premier League home games against Fulham (13 wins, 1 draw).
• Since scoring twice in a row in January 2019 against Brighton, Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored with just three of his last 77 shots in the Premier League. He has not scored in any of his last 46 kicks without a penalty with his right or left foot, since a goal against Huddersfield Town in December 2018.
• West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has saved seven penalties since the start of the 2016-17 Premier League campaign; three more than any other goalkeeper.

Whats Next?

West Ham returns to action after the international break with a trip to Sheffield United on Sunday, November 22, live on Sky Sports Premier League at 2pm. Fulham hosts Everton on Saturday, November 21 at 3:00 p.m.