“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 and the grand European final, and the ease with which they set Lyon up was really “huge”.
Their French hosts tried to intimidate their 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.
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.
According to fate, the next one will face Frankfurt, as the Germans surprisingly beat Barcelona.
More than a few West Ham fans may be disappointed with this result. They dreamed of traveling to the Nou Camp. Still, they can spend their day under the Spanish sun – after all, the final is in Seville on May 18.
There were West Ham fans watching this match around the world, some set their alarms and others took time off to tune in. It started at 8pm in England, but for James Findley in Auckland, New Zealand, it was 7am. For Iraklis Velitskakis in Thessaloniki, Greece, 10 pm For Zack Wawro in Pittsburgh, USA, 3 pm For Chris Filler Jr. in Melbourne, Australia, 5 am.
They hoped it would be worth it, and you can imagine Chris hugging the pillows in the living room during a nervous opening. A wave of Lyon’s attacks were thrown at West Ham, who had the windows 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.
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 over 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.
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 on Thursday 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.
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, who started in the league, sprinted to him and applied the final, beating Pollersbeck.
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.
There was still time for Areola to contribute. He had a strange rescue, though over time it was just the consolation Lyon was looking for.
As we mentioned, this victory came on the same day that in 1976 West Ham beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the European Cup Winners’ Cup to reach the final of this competition. Considered by many fans of the age to be their best memory, the club is now writing new chapters.
David Moyes deserves a lot of credit for that. He took this team to a new level in such a short period of time and now they can say that they are the semi-finalists of the Europa League.
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