Jarrod Bowen apologises for one thing he did during West Ham’s Fulham defeat

When even Jarrod Bowen can’t come to the rescue, West Ham United know they are in serious trouble. The familiar “Bowen signal” went unanswered once again, leaving the Hammers’ Premier League survival hanging by a thread.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were undone by Marco Silva’s Fulham at the London Stadium, dealing a crushing blow to their hopes of avoiding relegation. The Portuguese coach famously took over a struggling Nottingham Forest late in 2023 and guided them to European qualification, but this West Ham team looks far too disjointed — on and off the pitch — to replicate anything close to that remarkable turnaround.

Fulham were there for the taking, yet West Ham failed to capitalise.

Crysencio Summerville’s end product once again disappointed, Lucas Paquetá drifted out of the contest, and even the usually reliable Bowen lacked his cutting edge in a match that had plenty of effort but very little quality. Speaking after the defeat — which leaves the Hammers five points adrift of Nottingham Forest in the relegation zone — Bowen felt compelled to apologise for squandering the few chances that did fall his way.

Bowen holds his hands up after West Ham 0–1 Fulham

If there is anyone who shouldn’t shoulder the blame for West Ham’s dire position, it’s Bowen — a player who has carried the team almost single-handedly since Declan Rice’s departure in 2023.

“It’s very frustrating,” Bowen admitted. “I thought we had good moments. We got into the final third well and combined nicely at times, but we didn’t take our chances.

“My chance was probably the biggest one, to put us in front. I have to score that and I take responsibility — because in this league, no one gives you anything.”

It remains unclear which opportunity Bowen was referring to — whether it was the right-footed effort tipped over by Bernd Leno or the close-range chance created when Soungoutou Magassa cut the ball back to him. Either way, it was a moment the England international would usually bury.

“When things aren’t going well, it’s easy to point fingers,” Bowen added. “But we’re the ones who have to change it. I start with myself, but we all have to demand more from each other.

“A few players spoke after the game, which is good. Emotions run high after a defeat, but we’ve got a good group here and everyone knows we have to raise our levels. We’ve got to stick together.

“No one’s going to hand us anything in this league. We have to turn it around ourselves. We’ve got Brighton at home on Tuesday, then a run of important games. There’s still a lot to play for.

“The most important thing is giving the fans something to smile about. We haven’t done that enough this season, but we’ll keep working to change that.”

Jiménez strikes late as Fulham punish wasteful Hammers

Raúl Jiménez’s 85th-minute winner proved decisive, compounding West Ham’s misery. Nuno also pointed to wastefulness at one end and costly errors at the other, with his record now standing at just two wins from 13 matches since replacing Graham Potter three months ago.

“We played well and created chances,” Nuno said. “But in the end, we were punished.

“The first half was balanced, both teams controlling the game. In the second half, we started with momentum and created good combinations going forward. You could feel the goal was coming — the fans felt it, the players felt it.

“But in the end, we were punished in the final moments.”