As Mark Noble prepared to enter the field with 14 minutes left, he could be forgiven if his thoughts went back to the bad old days. Noble knows better than anyone that West Ham was a wreck not so long ago, until David Moyes arrived to bring stability and cohesion, and it is doubtful that the veteran midfielder ever imagined that his last season as a professional would includes his childhood club embarking on an adventure that could end with their wandering with the Europa League trophy in Seville next month.
And yet this was what West Ham became to Moses. That’s why their unbelieving fans say they’re huge. There is a challenge to this team, a refusal to wither under pressure, but there is also quality. This run is not a coincidence. West Ham have already defied expectations by beating Sevilla last month, and while they will have to be good again when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the last four, they deserve to be seen as a true European power after the way they divided Lyon into an amazing night at Groupama Stadium.
It was difficult to think of much better visits under the leadership of Moyes, whose plan worked to perfection. The clinical goals of Craig Dawson, Declan Rice and Jarod Bowen were no more than what West Ham deserved. Their combination of physical strength and counterattack was too great for Lyon, who will regret not taking advantage of playing the entire second half of last week’s first game at the London Stadium against 10 men, and as Moyes pointed out, that would not be the case. . possibly without an assault demonstration by Mihail Antonio, whose hold-up in front completely confused Castello Luqueba and Jason Denayer.
“I am extremely proud,” said Moyes, who was also pleased with how his team handled the missing three key defenders. Before the start, it was hard not to wonder how West Ham would do without Kurt Zuma and Angelo Ogbona in central defense and punished left-back Aaron Creswell. A partnership between central Dawson defenders and Isa Diop in the European Quarterfinals? Surely the run would be over.
Jarrod Bowen finished with a good effort on the third. Photo: Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images
By the end of the evening, however, Moyes praised Diop for overcoming an unstable start and talked about how Dawson was getting better with each game. West Ham were determined. They survived a difficult period in which Carl Toko Ekambi hit the windows of Lyon, Vladimir Kufal escaped an appeal for a penalty for a handball, and Diop received a yellow card for an awkward foul against Musa Dembele.
“Lyon played really well for 25 minutes,” Moyes said, but that wasn’t enough. After a while, West Ham began to prevail, Manuel Lanzini weaved things in the middle and their threat grew every time they managed to put Antonio in dangerous positions.
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Europa League: Rangers vs Leipzig
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Christopher Nkunku sent RB Leipzig in a semi-final match of the Europa League with Rangers, after his double brought the German team a 2-0 victory and an overall 3-1 victory over Atalanta.
After being held in a 1-1 draw in the first match, Domenico Tedesco’s team dominated Bergamo, deservedly taking the lead when Nkunku (pictured) scored close in the 18th minute.
Atalanta could not enter the game and the French striker sealed the victory by winning and scoring a late penalty to bring his score to 30 for the season in all competitions.
“It’s a fantastic night, it’s not easy to win here,” Tedesco told Uefa.com. “There were no secrets to victory, we defended well and, unlike the first game, we did well to overcome their press.” Reuters
Photo: Marco Luzzani / Getty Images Europe
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Lyon were horrified by the attacker’s pace. Antonio got involved when the tireless Pablo Fornals shot from 20 yards and almost created the opening goal with a cross for Bowen, who was unlucky not to turn the ball to the far post.
At this point, West Ham was growing in confidence. Rice and Tomasz Soucek outplayed Tangi Ndombele and Thiago Mendes in the midfield, and Lyon looked vulnerable under the high ball. The sets were the obvious way to score for West Ham, and it turned out when Fornals sent a corner kick in the 38th minute. Dawson just wanted him more than Lyon’s defenders, and his header meant West Ham ahead.
Craig Dawson bends down to head the West Ham discoverer. Photo: Rob Newell / CameraSport / Getty Images
Lyon, whose fans were disgraced by fighting with the guards after full time, failed again before halftime. Ben Johnson, who replaces Cresswell, crosses from the left, and Emerson Palmieri’s poor clearance was collected by Rice at the edge of the field. He touched and sent a low shot beyond Julian Pollersbeck, who replaced the injured Anthony Lopez in the door.
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Rice ran the entire length of the field to celebrate with West Ham’s unbelievable support for the travelers and fans of the hosts fell silent. That was not the case, and Peter Bosch responded at the break by replacing Ndombele and Romain Fire with Tete and Lucas Paketa, who was on the team, although there were reports of a positive Covid test last morning.
And yet West Ham were in their element. Three minutes after the second half, they stopped Lyon’s attack and countered when Rice, Fornals and Lanzini got out of trouble and found Antonio. He found Fornals and when the Spaniard cleared Bowen, all that was left was for the winger to score with a calm 20-yard shot. The draw is over: West Ham were too professional to lose their lead. Frankfurt is next after the stunning Barcelona, and West Ham will believe they can get there.
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