UEL: Sevilla win tight first leg

-

Sevilla 1 - 0 West Ham United

West Ham's hopes of reaching the next round of the Europa League hang in the balance after they fell to a narrow first-leg defeat in Sevilla.

Munir El Haddadi scored the only goal for the home side, sweeping in from Marcos Acuna's free-kick on the hour mark.

For most of the game, David Moyes' West Ham side had more than held their own in their first European knockout tie since 1981.

Nikola Vlasic headed an early opportunity directly at the Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Michail Antonio then missed his kick with the follow up from close range.

Vlasic also saw Bounou tip a low driven effort around the post. Tomas Soucek then tested the home goalkeeper. Manuel Lanzini also saw his close-range effort blocked as the London club tried to breach the mean Sevilla defence.

An exciting Europa League tie also saw the hosts create several openings of note with Munir heading wide from Jesus Corona's cross. Youssef En-Nesyri also went close, Lucas Ocampos then flashed an effort across the face of the goal.

Sevilla occupy second place in La Liga so the difficulty of West Ham's assignment was clearly evident. This was further highlighted by their outstanding record at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

Highlights

You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. Footage from BT Sport. BT Sport - YouTube

More to come from West Ham

David Moyes will be more than pleased by the efficient manner in which his side went about their work. 

He will also have noted the impact of substitute Said Benrahma, whose elusive running caused the Spanish side several problems after his introduction. He may come into consideration to start the return leg at London Stadium next week.

Moyes added in a post match interview: "I thought we ran them really close tonight and I’m sure we’ll run them close when we play them next week as well."

The Sevilla boss added “The team showed great character and were full of heart. They moved the ball quickly out on the pitch.” 

Did you enjoy this post match report? More football news from across Europe can be found by clicking the link below.

European Super Football (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) 

Popular posts from this blog

Sliding Doors Moments: What if Scholes wasn’t offside?

-
Image
It's time to for another sliding doors moment in football  We travel back to 2004. Manchester United face Porto in the last-16 of the Champions League.  Author - Liam C What actually happened? A ontroversial offside call against Paul Scholes became a pivotal moment in European football history. The disallowed goal cost United a place in the quarter-finals, while Porto, managed by the up and coming manager José Mourinho, went on to win the competition and launch Mourinho into the managerial elite. But what if Scholes hadn’t been ruled offside? How might this alternative scenario have changed the landscape of world and European football? Scholes wasn’t offside: United progress Had the linesman not flagged Scholes for offside, Manchester United would have progressed to the next round of the Champions League. Scholes' goal was legitimate, and had it stood, United would have won the tie on aggregate, knocking out Porto and ending their European dreams. With the Red Devils moving
Read more

PL News: Ten Hag sacked by Man United

-
Image
There has been a managerial change at Old Trafford. Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag due to the club's disappointing start to the season. Author - Olivia T Ten Hag's last match ended in a 2-1 defeat against West Ham , leaving the club in 14th place in the Premier League with only three wins from their first nine matches. The Red Devils are also 21st of 36 teams in the Europa League league stage, having drawn their three opening matches. Club sources from the club have reportedly suggested that this was a difficult decision but a unanimous one among all the key decision makers.  The club exercised a one-year extension in Ten Hag's contract after their FA Cup final win against Manchester City in May . However, just over three months later, he has been dismissed. United currently sit on 11 points after nine games, marking their second-lowest tally in the Premier League at this stage (only slightly better than the 10 points they had in the 2019-20 season)
Read more

Scotland: Kilmarnock stun Rangers with late winner

-
Image
Kilmarnock 1 - 0 Rangers Rangers remain six points behind the Premiership leaders after suffering a late defeat against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Author - Mark Lee In a lacklustre match, Rangers wasted several opportunities to secure three points. A combination of poor finishing and solid defending from Kilmarnock made it another frustrating afternoon for the Belgian manager. As the game was heading for a draw, David Watson's lob found Marley Watkins, who beat the offside trap and bundled the ball past Jack Butland. The Gers need to regroup quickly ahead of their Europa League match against FCSB on Thursday. Meanwhile, Derek McInnes' team has now moved to seventh place and are just outside the top six on goal difference. A closer look at how Kilmarnock stunned this Rangers side Home form has traditionally been a strength for Kilmarnock , but they had recorded five draws and one defeat in all competitions on their own pitch leading up to this game. ⚽️ Goal of the day: Mar
Read more