The league table would suggest that West Ham hosting bottom-of-the-table Burnley was a foregone conclusion and the home banker of the weekend.
However, the Clarets were in the mood to bust some coupons today and started like a house on fire at the London Stadium, taking the lead inside 15 minutes when David Datro Fofana unleashed an absolute rocket from 25 yards which found the top right corner.
You’d have expected that would be a wake-up call for the Hammers, but they were unusually sluggish in the opening 45 minutes - perhaps showing signs of a European hangover after a 1-0 midweek Europa League defeat against Freiburg.
It took until the half-hour mark for West Ham to even muster a shot in anger, and the fact it was a wayward strike from Konstantinos Mavropanos just about summed up their first-half performance.
It got worse before the break for the hosts though in comical circumstances, when the former West Ham academy graduate Josh Cullen’s delivery was turned into their own goal by Mavropanos.
A chorus of boos greeted the HT whistle, but they soon turned to cheers 30 seconds after the restart when some typically poor Burnley defending saw Lucas Paquetá charge clear on goal and slot coolly past James Trafford.
From there, West Ham tails were up and the chances were rolling in, with Paquetá again curling agonisingly wide, before Mohammed Kudus blazed over from close range just moments later.
Pressure was building and building on the Burnley goal and Vincent Kompany’s side survived a huge scare when Vladimír Coufal’s cross deflected onto the crossbar.
The Clarets found themselves in a similar position in the reverse fixture - leading by a single goal going into the final minutes - and West Ham won that game, so the final stages always promised to be nervy.
David Moyes' men thought they’d struck the vital goal five minutes from time when former Burnley man Danny Ings turned home what he thought was the equaliser, but VAR adjudged Michail Antonio to have strayed offside in the build-up and the goal was ruled out.
He would yet have the final laugh, as he swivelled inside the area before firing home a late leveller to break Burnley hearts - not that a point suited West Ham, who after watching some of their fellow European chasers win this weekend, will see it as a huge opportunity missed.
Flashscore Man of the Match: David Datro Fofana (Burnley)
