“Massive” is the favorite word of West Ham fans right now. They sing about how they are, wherever they go. Well, now they are in the semifinals of the Europa League.
Only two games against Eintracht Frankfurt. That’s all that separates West Ham from the European final, and the ease with which they lifted Lyon on Thursday night was truly “huge”.
Their French hosts tried to intimidate the guests. They had their fireworks, their signals, their whistles and drums, but they didn’t have the je sa sais quoi that West Ham had.
Jarod Bowen celebrates after scoring West Ham’s third goal against Lyon on Thursday
Bowen managed to finish most calmly, after being played just after halftime
The striker was greeted by his teammates after expanding the advantage of his country
MATCH FACTS
Lyon: Pollersbeck, Gusto, Denayer (Raine-Adelaide 89), Luqueba, Emerson Palmieri, Faivre (Tete 46), Thiago Mendes, Ndombele (Packet 46), Toko Ekambi, Auar, Dembele
Substitutes: Bonevier, Cadevere, Dubois, Keita, Damien Da Silva, Rhine-Adelaide, Bradley Barcola, Boateng, Malcolm Barcola
Reserved: Barcola
West Ham: Areola, Kuffalo, Dawson, Diop, Johnson, Soucek, Rice (Benrahma 91), Bowen, Lanzini (Noble 77), Fornals, Antonio (Yarmolenko 84)
Substitutes: Fabian, Vlasic, Fredericks, Masuaku, King, Randolph, Alese, Chesters, Perkins
Goals: Dawson 38, Rice 44, Bowen 48
Reserved: Diop
Judge: Sandro Scharer (Switzerland)
After Craig Dawson came in with his head, it was curtains for Lyon. From there, Declan Rice added a second, sprinting to the 3,000 West Ham fans sitting in the sky kissing the badge.
Jarod Bowen then got the third, fine final at the end of an excellent counterattack.
What a night it was to think that it was the anniversary of their greatest night in Europe – the 3-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, which sent them to the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976.
Ironically, next they will face Frankfurt after the Germans beat Barcelona. More than a few West Ham fans may be disappointed with this result.
They dreamed of traveling to the Nou Camp, this iconic football arena. At least they can still spend their day under the Spanish sun. However, the final is in Seville on May 18.
Not everything was simple. The match started with a wave of attacks from Lyon and West Ham had to thank them for not falling 1-0 in five minutes.
Carl Toko Ekambi broke inside and had room to shoot, beating goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, but not the crossbar.
It was close and Lyon forever seemed likely to score from centering. Right back Malo Gusto was doing his own test with a beep on his wing, running relentlessly back and forth, and a ball in the penalty area led to a melee that West Ham tried to clear.
Declan Rice scored the second for West Ham with a deflected shot just before halftime
Rice watches as his efforts pass by Lyon goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck
The English midfielder was congratulated by Craig Dawson after doubling the lead of his team
Lyon did not play as a side in 10th place in Ligue 1. They were at the top, pushing the guests from the Premier League back. And yet, after surviving this early storm – and according to them, the waters were turbulent – West Ham took control of the game.
Their first chance to score came in the 24th minute, when Mikhail Antonio centered to the back post. It was a nice ball and Bowen was waiting there. He reached out to meet him, but could not steer him toward the goal and beyond Julian Pollersbeck.
At this point, West Ham owned only 30 percent of the property. But then they scored a very famous goal – the kind we’ve seen from them in the Premier League this season.
Dawson (center) shoots with his head from a corner of a nearby crossbar to find the result
The defender walks away in celebration after coming out of the deadlock at night
Dawson celebrated with his teammates after scoring a great goal in the first half
Bowen’s effort was deflected by Jason Denayer, winning a corner at West Ham. Lyon fans whistled, piercing their noses. Their distraction attempt did not work. Pablo Fornals crossed, and Dawson burst into the nearby post and headed home.
West Ham were ahead. Will they lean back and try to defend the lead with 1-0? Don’t bet on that.
It was 2-0 before halftime when Emerson’s header fell to Rice on the edge of the penalty area. The English national opened his body as if shooting from the right. Instead, he aimed to the left and, with a useful diversion from Castello Luqueba, defeated Polersbeck.
Lucas Packetta was Lyon’s best player in the first game and West Ham thought he would miss this game after being positive for Covid yesterday morning. They thought wrong. It was negative in the afternoon in a separate test and so it was available.
The package was presented for the second half by manager Peter Bosch and Tete. It didn’t help. One counterattack and the result was 3-0 for West Ham and good night Lyon.
Manager David Moyes gestures to West Ham fans at full-time whistle
Rice and Mark Noble celebrate after West Ham secure a place in the semi-finals
Antonio was involved in the construction, as is often the case today. He picked up the ball before passing to Fornals, who played a smart ball for the first time behind Bowen. The 25-year-old player, who started in the league, sprinted to him and applied the final.
Now it was time to party for West Ham. At least that’s what the 3,000 fans crammed into the corner of Groupama Stadium had planned to spend the last half hour. Lyon’s heads disappeared, as did several fans heading to the exits.
However, the so-called “ultras” stayed and waited for the whistle full time. It was their signal to try to storm the field in anger at this terrible defeat. Some started fires in the stands. Others fought with the French riot police. It was ugly.
West Ham ignored. Their players celebrated, as did David Moyes, who deserves a lot of credit for bringing this team to new levels in such a short period of time.
This triumph of Eintracht Frankfurt in 1976 is considered by many West Ham supporters to be one of their best memories, but now this club is writing new chapters.
Today they can say that they are semi-finalists of the Europa League. Now this is “mass”.
The Hammers players congratulate their traveling fans after their brilliant victory in France
Scroll down to see how everything unfolds with Livemail’s live runner.
Add Comment