West Ham United were deprived of the chance to face Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Europa League, after the giants of La Liga were expelled from the race by Eintracht Frankfurt
Video loading
Video not available
The video will soon play automatically8Cancel
Play now
Lyon fans are breaking down barriers after the defeat of West Ham
Declan Rice knows that Eintracht Frankfurt is not a pittance after the German team shocked Barcelona with the organization of the semifinals of the Europa League with West Ham United.
The 23-year-old called Irons’ upcoming rivals a “top team” after they stunned the Camp Nou and won 3-2 on Thursday. A brace by Philipp Kostic and a stunning shot by Rafael Bore gave Frankfurt a historic result on a dramatic night in the race.
Rice’s West Ham, meanwhile, beat Lyon 3-0 in their own backyard, reaching the final four of a European competition for the first time since 1976 with Rangers and RB Leipzig.
Irons’ fans dreamed of a spring trip to Barcelona, but now they will have to settle for a trip to Germany.
However, their captain at night is well aware of the task facing David Moyes’ men, telling BT Sport after the match: “To beat Barça, they are a top team. Whether it was a bad night for Barça, they still had to score three against them. We saw them against Betis and they looked really strong.
Lanzini avoids ban, despite being caught driving without a license or insurance in the UK Mikhail Antonio admits secret practice of hotel celebrations amid the West Ham goal oath
“We will be ready for anything, two games again, we know what we want and that is to get to the final and we will do everything possible to get there,” joked Rice, who scored the second goal of West Ham in France . : “I was learning German at school, but I gave it up after two weeks! It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
The midfielder’s goal was crushed by the blows of Craig Dawson and Jarod Bowen, continuing their European dream, which saw them beat the Europa League specialists Sevilla and the French Grand Lyon in the knockouts after storming in the group stages. Entering the rematch with a total score of 1-1, Moyes and colleagues have a job at Groupama Stadium.
But when Dawson came out of nowhere after 38 minutes and Rice quickly doubled his lead, Irons was in the dreamland by halftime. Bowen needed only three minutes to finish the match, as the helpless Lyon failed to disrupt the decisive defense of West Ham and test goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
Rice’s goal brought West Ham 2-0 against Lyon
Join the debate! Will the West Ham Europa League win? Tell us your forecast below.
“Special, very, very special,” Rice added. “We knew it was a difficult place to come and they had a high individual quality. We knew that with our attacking players we could score goals against their defense tonight.
“Having a two-goal lead and then Jarod coming out early and getting rid of him in the second half is a special feeling. It’s a great night for all the fans.”
Moyes repeated the sentence of the star of Irons, saying: “I am extremely proud of the players. The performance and probably even more the performance in the second half of the first game, when we were left with 10 people, which seems like a really bad decision, the players stayed, scored a goal from the front and then allowed. Many people did not think we would succeed tonight.
“I think that cohesion helps, if you have a good team spirit, then all managers would like to achieve it, but it comes from victory and good results. We have a really good group of guys, we were really lucky, they’ve been great since I’ve been here. During the two-year trip we talked about avoiding relegation and now to reach the semifinals of a European tournament.
In the career of Chicharito from Man United, tears and regret for exile and depression Moyes describes what he would have done differently if he had been given another chance at Man United
“It’s great and we look forward to it. It was, it was huge [progress made at the club] what we did in two years.
“We have not yet won trophies, we are trying to compete and qualify for European football again if we can, but if we get to these final stages, beating Sevilla, Lyon and teams in the group stages, big clubs with a great European football history , we go again, you don’t win anything tonight, but it was a big moment for us.
“The 3-0 victory as a guest in Europe is a really, really good result.
“When we qualified last year, you can hear West Ham supporters say we’re going on a European tour, so they had a pretty good tour this season, Belgium, Croatia, France tonight and Spain, so I’m sure everyone we will look forward to Germany as well. “
Both semifinals will be held on Thursday, April 28 and May 5, the final will be held in Seville on Wednesday, May 18.
Read more
Lingard has three transfer options to leave Manchester United, including Mourinho’s reunion
Read more
The £ 250 million problem for Man United as the new boss faces a two-player summer decision
Add Comment