Month: May 2022

Categories
football Sports News

WESTHAM HAMMER NORWICH TO STAY IN HUNT FOR PREMIER LEAGUE TOP-SIX

West Ham brushed off their European exit and reignited the race for the Premier League top six with a thumping 4-0 win at Norwich.

The Hammers arrived at Carrow Road licking their wounds after their painful Europa League semi-final defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night.

But Norwich, condemned to relegation by defeat at Aston Villa last weekend, were less Frankfurt and more Frank Spencer with goalkeeper Tim Krul having a nightmare.

Manchester United’s 4-0 defeat at Brighton has left the door open for West Ham to snatch sixth place and qualify for the Europa League again next season.

Thanks to Norwich’s generosity they are now three points behind United, with a game in hand and a superior goal difference.

Krul was badly at fault for goals from Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio to leave his side 2-0 down after half an hour.

West Ham were three up by half-time thanks to Benrahma’s second, and Manuel Lanzini added the fourth from the penalty spot.

Benrahma’s first arrived in the 12th minute when he collected Jarrod Bowen’s cross on the left of the Norwich penalty area.

The Algerian’s shot deflected off the knee of Max Aarons but Krul still should have stopped it, only for the ball to squirm out of his grasp and roll in.

Benrahma was not complaining after registering only his second goal since December and reaching double figures for the season.

Things got worse for Krul on the half-hour mark when Bowen slipped Antonio through on goal.

Krul came off his line and stuck out a hand to nick the ball away, but succeeded only in nudging it back into the striker’s path, leaving covering defender Sam Bryam on the deck and Antonio, who scored four on his last trip to Norwich two seasons ago, tapping into an empty net.

“That’s why we’re going down” was one of the more polite songs to emanate from an increasingly frustrated home fanbase watching their side slip towards a club-record 12th home defeat in a single season.

West Ham should have had a third moments later but Bowen volleyed wide from six yards.

But they did not have to wait long, as in first-half stoppage time Bowen set up his third goal of the match, reaching the byline and pulling the ball back for Benrahma to lash home from 15 yards.

Norwich thought they had pulled one back at the start of the second half when Byram bundled the ball in from a corner, but the VAR spotted a handball and the goal was ruled out.

Instead a handball at the other end piled on the misery for the Canaries, the ball hitting the arm of Jacob Sorensen and Lanzini tucking away the penalty as West Ham comprehensively kept their hopes of a return to Europe alive.

Categories
football Sports News

LA LIGA ROUND UP: JORDI ALBA LATE STRIKE HELP BARCELONA SEAL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION

Barcelona made sure of Champions League football again next season after Jordi Alba struck a fine volley deep into stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win at Real Betis.

Substitute Ansu Fati gave Barca the lead with 14 minutes to go against the Copa del Rey winners, who had been given a guard of honour before kick-off.

However, defender Marc Bartra swiftly hauled Betis level against his former club, only for Alba to secure a dramatic victory when he volleyed in a cross from Dani Alves.

Barcelona moved 11 points clear of fifth-placed Betis heading into the final three games of the season.

Earlier, Granada had boosted their survival hopes with a 6-2 win at relegation rivals Mallorca, where Jorge Molina scored twice.

Athletic Bilbao saw their push for European qualification dented after being held to a goalless draw at home by Valencia, who had substitute Hugo Guillamon sent off in stoppage time.

Cadiz moved three points clear of the relegation zone after a late goal flurry during the closing 10 minutes secured a 3-0 win over Elche, who saw substitute Ezequiel Ponce receive a straight red card shortly after coming on during the second half.

Celta Vigo pushed bottom club Alaves a step closer to the drop with a 4-0 win.

Veteran forward Iago Aspas scored twice for the hosts, while Alaves defender Ximo Navarro was sent off just after the hour.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

BRIGHTON HUMILIATE MANCHESTER UNITED WITH DOMINANT FOUR-GOAL THRASHING

Manchester United’s players were subjected to chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” from their own fans as their faint hopes of Champions League qualification were extinguished by a 4-0 thumping at Brighton.

Goals from Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard humiliated United and ensured they will finish with their lowest points tally of the Premier League era.

Protesting travelling supporters once again took aim at the club’s ownership, in addition to their outclassed and outfought team, on a remarkable and chastening evening in front of record crowd of 31,637 at the Amex Stadium.

Ralf Rangnick’s sixth-placed side were second best for the duration and can now only accumulate a maximum total of 61 points this term – three fewer than they managed in 2013-14, which began under David Moyes and finished with the caretaker management of Ryan Giggs.

United’s performance was arguably their worst of a miserable season – which has featured 11 defeats – to highlight the extent of the job facing incoming manager Erik ten Hag

A stunning victory for rampant Brighton was a first in nine games on home soil, dating back to Boxing Day, to boost their hopes of a first Premier League top-half finish.

United were bullied from the outset and it did not take long for chants against the club’s owners to emerge from the travelling support.

Cries of ‘love United, hate Glazers’ and ‘we want Glazers out’ rang out in the early exchanges amid a blistering start from Brighton.

Albion then took a deserved 15th-minute lead to further dampen the mood among the disillusioned away end.

Ecuador midfielder Caicedo made the breakthrough, firing through the legs of Victor Lindelof and into the bottom left corner from distance to claim his first Seagulls goal after Gross’ initial effort was blocked by Alex Telles.

Brighton’s boisterous fans created a carnival atmosphere and were clearly determined to enjoy the penultimate home game of their club’s finest Premier League season.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s maiden appearance at the stadium brought a mixture of awe and derision from the majority in attendance.

The Portuguese star – who repeatedly attracted both camera phones and jeers – barely had a sniff in the opening period and suffered a whack from Joel Veltman for his troubles. He later fired well over from a free-kick, before being booked for a sliding challenge on Lewis Dunk.

Impressive Albion should have doubled their lead three minutes before the break.

Raphael Varane made a complete mess of Robert Sanchez’s long kick forward but former United forward Danny Welbeck squandered a golden chance by lobbing over with only David De Gea to beat.

Interim boss Rangnick reacted to a dismal opening 45 minutes by introducing Fred and Edinson Cavani.

However, things swiftly went from bad to worse for the visitors.

Left-back Cucurella joined Caicedo in claiming his first Albion goal, doubling the hosts’ lead by sweeping into the roof of the net after Trossard pulled the ball back from the left.

German midfielder Gross expertly slipped the ball beyond De Gea in the 57th minute before Trossard bundled home from close range just three minutes later after Diogo Dalot cleared Welbeck’s initial dinked effort off the line.

A brief interlude as VAR checked Trossard’s goal for a possible handball gave United’s followers chance to vocally question the commitment of their side.

It could have been even worse for the away side as Alexis Mac Allister hit a post as he and Gross attempted to walk the ball in.

To their credit, United’s players showed increased fight in the closing stages and threatened to reduce the deficit.

Albion goalkeeper Sanchez saved well from Cavani and Bruno Fernandes. The Spaniard also kept out United substitute Harry Maguire, with Cavani’s subsequent tap-in ruled out for offside.

Confirmation of the record crowd further increased the noise inside the ground, with United’s supporters showing their sense of humour by chanting ‘you’ve only come to see Ronaldo’ ahead of a long, despondent journey home.

Categories
football Sports News

FIVE-STAR MANCHESTER CITY POWER THREE POINTS CLEAR OF TITLE RIVALS LIVERPOOL

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling (second right) celebrates with his team mates after scoring his sides fifth goal of the game during the Premier League match at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester. Picture date: Sunday May 8, 2022.

Manchester City bounced back from their European heartbreak to move a step closer to retaining the Premier League title by thrashing Newcastle 5-0 on Sunday.

Raheem Sterling struck twice while Joao Cancelo, Rodri and Phil Foden were also on target at the Etihad Stadium as City powered three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table.

The performance and result were an emphatic response after City’s Champions League hopes were shattered by Real Madrid’s dramatic semi-final fightback at the Bernabeu in midweek.

Many had wondered how Pep Guardiola would rouse his squad after that devastating loss but Liverpool’s failure to beat Tottenham on Saturday probably did his job for him.

With a chance to give themselves more breathing space, City looked vibrant from the outset.

Initially Newcastle met their fire with their own in a frantic opening and the visitors should have taken an early lead.

Chris Wood had a glorious opportunity as he was picked out unmarked by Alain Saint-Maximin but he headed tamely at Ederson.

A goal then might have set nerves jangling but City responded well with Aymeric Laporte and Cancelo both going close.

The hosts then claimed the lead in the 19th minute after a fine piece of vision from Ilkay Gundogan.

The German, who brought a calming influence after a hectic start, clipped a fine ball across the box to pick out Cancelo at the far post. Cancelo showed great awareness himself to head back across goal and Sterling dived in to head home.

City had a moment of alarm soon after when Joelinton scrambled the ball into the net following a corner but it was disallowed for offside.

The champions upped the tempo with Gundogan firing wide and Oleksandr Zinchenko almost teeing up Gabriel Jesus.

The second goal came following a corner seven minutes before the break. Martin Dubravka failed to hold Gundogan’s volley from the edge of the area and, although the keeper reacted quickly to deny Ruben Dias on the rebound, he could not prevent Laporte tucking in.

With that City appeared to break the spirit of Newcastle and the home side took firm control of the game with a third just after the hour.

It came from a corner as Rodri found space at the near post to head home Kevin De Bruyne’s cross.

The crowd celebrated what seemed a significant goal in the title race and City appeared hungry for more as Zinchenko forced a fine save from Dubravka.

With the job done, City eased off with their midweek trip to Wolves in mind.

There was little to alarm them until Newcastle belatedly showed some spark in the closing minutes.

Callum Wilson, returning from injury, came off the bench to test Ederson and Saint-Maximin also had a chance.

That only served to fire up City more and Foden made it 4-0 in the last minute before Sterling completed the rout in injury time.

Categories
football Sports News

RANGERS DEFEAT DUNDEE UNITED TO KEEP CELTIC’S TITLE CELEBRATION ON HOLD

Rangers cut the deficit behind cinch Premiership leader Celtic to six points with a one-sided 2-0 win over Dundee United at Ibrox but the title remains on course for Parkhead.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst rang the changes following Thursday’s thrilling Europa League semi-final win over RB Leipzig and it took until the 55th minute to get the breakthrough when skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot for his 17th goal of the season.

Substitute Amad Diallo added a second in the 78th minute to reduce the gap behind Celtic with two fixtures remaining, but Rangers have a vastly inferior goal difference of 20 which makes the Hoops overwhelming favourites to reclaim the title.

But Ibrox eyes are elsewhere at the moment.

The euphoria from the 3-1 win over Leipzig still permeated the air in Govan with talk of the Seville final against Eintracht Frankfurt on May 18 the main topic of conversation.

There was surely no one inside the stadium who thought the title could realistically stay at Ibrox and the focus was on Spain.

Van Bronckhorst shuffled his pack with a first start for 18-year-old central defender Leon King while Jon McLaughlin, James Sands, Steven Davis, Aaron Ramsey, Scott Arfield and Fashion Sakala were reinstated

United boss Tam Courts, whose side went into the game in fourth place, gave a first start to 18-year-old midfielder Mathew Anim Cudjoe.

Midfielder Arfield, who signed a new contract on Saturday, was playing the false nine position as Rangers pressed the Taysiders from the start, with Sakala drawing a good save from United keeper Benjamin Siegrist in the ninth minute with an angled drive.

The Tannadice number one then made an even better save from Arfield’s close-range shot after the playmaker had linked up brilliantly with Davis inside the box.

Rangers kept probing and after the half-hour mark Sakala pulled a Connor Goldson pass out of the air inside the box but drove wide of the target from 12 yards.

Ramsey then crashed a shot off the post just before the break but the offside flag had been raised.

Courts’ side had offered nothing in attack by the time referee Steven McLean blew for half-time.

Diallo, on for Scott Wright for the start of the second half, made a yard of space for himself but fired a shot well wide before Siegrist parried another effort from Sakala to safety.

However, moments later the Swiss keeper bundled Sakala to the ground as he got on the end of a Ramsey pass and up stepped the unerring Tavernier to drive the penalty into the corner to put the hosts ahead.

The Rangers captain, left-back Borna Barisic and Arfield made way for youngsters Alex Lowry, Charlie McCann and Adam Devine, the latter making his debut at 19.

On-loan Manchester United forward Diallo had the ball in the net in the 69th minute but the offside was up and there was no protest.

United still remained toothless but in the 74th minute a slack pass back from Goldson had Gers goalkeeper McLaughlin moving sharply to keep it from crossing the line.

Four minutes later, however, the points were safe when Sakala drove towards the United goal and played in Diallo who deftly clipped the ball over Siegrist and the home side could have added more as they dominated until the final whistle.

Categories
football Sports News

EDDIE NKETIAH BRACE BOOSTS ARSENAL’S TOP-FOUR PUSH AND LEAVES LEEDS IN RELEGATION TROUBLE

Arsenal’s quest for a return to Champions League football continued as they laboured to a 2-1 victory over 10-man Leeds with Eddie Nketiah’s brace sending the visitors into the Premier League relegation zone.

The clash at the Emirates Stadium was always going to have repercussions at both ends of the table and the result leaves the Gunners on the cusp of a top-four finish.

Nketiah, on loan at Leeds during the 2019-20 campaign, appeared to all-but seal the points in the opening 10 minutes before Luke Ayling was dismissed to add to the woes of Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch, whose side at least registered a goal through Diego Llorente.

Everton’s victory at Leicester saw Leeds drop into the bottom three at just the wrong time of the season, with Chelsea next up on Wednesday night.

For Arsenal, whose manager Mikel Arteta signed a new three-year deal on Friday, they now know victory at the home of north London rivals Tottenham on Thursday will ensure a first season of Champions League football for five years.

The hosts took the lead early on when Nketiah capitalised on a poor touch from Illan Meslier, closing down the goalkeeper and forcing the ball home.

Nketiah doubled the advantage with a well-taken finish from 12 yards as he turned home Gabriel Martinelli’s low cross having stood completely free inside the Leeds box.

Enjoying their football, Bukayo Saka picked up a delightful flick from Martin Odegaard but shot straight at Meslier.

Things went from bad to worse for Leeds as Ayling was sent off, the skipper seeing red for a two-footed lunge on Martinelli after referee Chris Kavanagh was advised by VAR to review the decision on the pitchside monitor.

Arsenal looked to make their numerical advantage pay, Odegaard forcing a good stop out of Meslier from a free-kick before Llorente hooked the loose ball off his own goal line.

Leeds traipsed off at the break having failed to register a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes – but Arsenal appeared to take their foot off the gas when the game resumed.

Meslier went largely untested during the opening minutes and Leeds struck with their first effort of the game as Llorente popped up at the back post to turn home Junior Firpo’s flick on from a corner.

The hosts toiled in their attempts to put the game to bed with a third goal, with Arteta turning to Nicolas Pepe and Emile Smith Rowe off the bench to freshen things up.

Leeds, though, remained a threat, Meslier coming forward for a late corner as tension grew around the Emirates.

He was back in the Arsenal box for a last-gasp free-kick which saw Rodrigo’s flick saved by Aaron Ramsdale, and the final whistle signalled a deep sigh of relief from the majority within the Emirates.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

EVERTON OUT OF RELEGATION ZONE WITH 2-1 WIN AT LEICESTER

5/8/2022 - Everton's Mason Holgate (left) celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match at the King Power Stadium, Leicester. Picture date: Sunday May 8, 2022. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images/Alamy Images/Sipa USA) *** US Rights Only ***

Mason Holgate fired resurgent Everton out of the Premier League relegation zone with the winning goal in a 2-1 victory at Leicester.

The defender’s header secured back-to-back league wins for just the second time this season as the Toffees moved above Leeds, who were beaten at Arsenal on Sunday, and Burnley.

Vitalii Mykolenko’s stunning opener was cancelled out by Patson Daka – following comical Everton defending – but the Toffees recovered to give themselves a huge lifeline.

It was just their second away win in the Premier League this season and first since August.

Trailing Burnley by five points before beating Chelsea last week, the Toffees are now a point above the bottom three after the Clarets lost to Aston Villa and Leeds’ 2-1 defeat to the Gunners.

Everton also still have a game in hand and it represents a dramatic turnaround but they needed three fine second-half saves from Jordan Pickford to earn the points.

Leicester – who lost their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg 1-0 to Roma to bow out 2-1 on aggregate on Thursday – remain 14th.

The Foxes’ season has unravelled having been three points off the top seven at the start of the year with boss Brendan Rodgers ready to revamp his squad in the summer.

Everton, unchanged from their vital win over Chelsea, would have surely been buoyed to see Jamie Vardy only among the substitutes but they needed Yerry Mina to bail them out after three minutes.

The Toffees lost the ball in midfield and Kelechi Iheanacho darted towards goal, he slipped in Daka to beat Pickford but not the sliding Mina who diverted the goalbound shot behind.

But, despite Leicester’s start, it was Everton who grabbed the lead after just six minutes.

The Foxes were slow to react from a throw-in which allowed Alex Iwobi to cross for Mykolenko and he crashed a brilliant volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Mina’s afternoon then quickly got worse as he soon played his own calamitous part in Leicester’s 11th-minute leveller.

He and Seamus Coleman – neither under pressure – went for the same header 25 yards out only to collide and crumple into a heap.

Daka seized on the gift and ran through to easily beat Pickford for his first goal since February.

It was all Everton’s own making but came just seconds after Kasper Schmeichel had turned a close-range Abdoulaye Doucoure effort onto the post to stop the visitors doubling their lead.

Mina was forced off injured to complete his misery but Everton regained their composure to retake the lead after half an hour.

Again it was Leicester’s Achilles heel, a set-piece, which provided the chance with Demarai Gray swinging in a right-wing corner.

Schmeichel parried Richarlison’s header but the Foxes failed to track Holgate as he was quickest to react to nod in from close range.

It was the 56th league goal the hosts have conceded this season with 18 now coming from set-pieces.

Improvement was needed and Pickford turned Nampalys Mendy’s drive wide just after the hour before Vardy replaced the midfielder with the Foxes desperately seeking inspiration.

The hosts had hardly cranked up the pressure but England’s number one Pickford produced an excellent reaction stop to keep Harvey Barnes out after 68 minutes.

That did spark Leicester into life and Pickford continued his own personal battle with Barnes by pushing his low effort behind with 19 minutes left.

Barnes glanced a header wide as the hosts edged closer to a leveller which never came as Everton celebrated a huge step towards survival.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

CHELSEA CLINCH THIRD STRAIGHT WSL WITH COME-FROM BEHIND WIN OVER MANCHESTER UNITED

Chelsea secured a third consecutive Barclays Women’s Super League championship as they came from behind twice to beat Manchester United 4-2 and hold off Arsenal’s title challenge.

The Gunners knew they could snatch the title on the final day of the WSL campaign if they achieved a better result against West Ham than the Blues could manage against the Red Devils.

It looked within their reach when Chelsea twice trailed to United at Kingsmeadow, first through Martha Thomas’ header and then an Ella Toone volley.

But the Blues roared back in the second period. Sam Kerr drew them level with a stunning volley, Guro Reiten’s close-range finish gave them the lead and another Kerr volley afforded them breathing space.

Arsenal did everything they could, securing a 2-0 win away to West Ham, but it proved to be in vain.

Jonas Eidevall’s team were in pole position at half-time, with the score in their match 0-0 while Chelsea trailed. However, the Blues’ recovery ultimately rendered second-half goals from Stina Blackstenius and Vivianne Miedema meaningless.

Miedema’s future with the Gunners is uncertain, with the Dutch star out of contract this summer.

Manchester City clinched the third Champions League berth with a 4-0 victory over Reading.

At kick-off they knew that if they lost and local rivals Manchester United won they would be pipped for third place, but City were comfortable by half-time after goals from Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw.

An 85th-minute goal from Ellen White and an added-time penalty from Alex Greenwood made the result safe, and means City head into next Sunday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea in fine form.

Tottenham consolidated fifth place with a 1-0 win over Leicester thanks to Ashleigh Neville’s goal early in the second half, while Brighton and Everton drew 1-1.

Nathalie Bjorn’s penalty in stoppage time gave the Toffees a half-time lead but it lasted just seven minutes after the restart when Aileen Whelan pulled Albion level.

Birmingham, who were already relegated to the Championship, ended the season on a high with a 1-0 win over midlands rivals Aston Villa.

Greek forward Veatriki Sarri netted the only goal in the 10th minute.

Categories
football Sports News

LIVERPOOL’S PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE CHARGE STALLS AS SPURS CLAIM POINT AT ANFIELD

Tottenham blew a huge hole in Liverpool’s Premier League – and quadruple – hopes as Son Heung-min’s 20th goal of the season earned them a 1-1 draw at Anfield to gift the advantage to Manchester City.

Despite Luis Diaz’s 74th-minute equaliser and manager Jurgen Klopp going for broke, knowing he had no other option, the hosts now require their title rivals to lose one of their four remaining matches.

Even though the point took Liverpool top of the table, it was only courtesy of a superior goal difference of one and Pep Guardiola’s side will go three points clear with a win at home to Newcastle on Sunday.

The draw did little for Spurs’ top-four hopes either as they remain a point behind north London rivals Arsenal, who host struggling Leeds a couple of hours before City kick off.

Liverpool’s chances of overhauling City, who have only the title to focus on after their dramatic Champions League exit to Real Madrid in midweek, in this pulsating race were always balanced on a knife edge as they knew one slip-up would probably mean their hopes were over.

Tottenham were seen as the biggest challenge of their remaining four matches and so it proved as Antonio Conte brought a disciplined game plan to Anfield.

The tactics were evident from the off – five at the back, four in midfield, double-up on Mohamed Salah and Diaz and look to hit the space behind their opponents’ full-backs, particularly Andy Robertson.

It was fine in theory, but Liverpool’s recovery of possession was up with the best it has been all season and Spurs barely had a moment’s peace.

The three biggest cheers in the opening 12 minutes were for team combination which retrieved a lost ball, Trent Alexander-Arnold dispossessing Harry Kane down by the corner flag in front of the Kop and Jordan Henderson sliding in to block a Kane shot from a rare Spurs counter.

Tottenham’s plan also relied on them not conceding set-pieces in dangerous areas, but that was easier said than done, with Virgil Van Dijk missing the target with one header from a corner and hitting the crossbar with another late in the half.

Hugo Lloris only just managed to claw away Ryan Sessegnon’s header back across goal with Salah lurking, while the France goalkeeper also got down well to blow a low Diaz effort after a quick exchange with Sadio Mane.

Tottenham’s one effort of any threat saw Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg hit Alisson’s right-hand post from distance, although the Liverpool goalkeeper looked like he had it covered all the way.

But the visitors decided to open the game up in the second half and it paid dividends in the 56th minute when Kane was allowed to run from deep and pick out Sessegnon on the left of the penalty area and his low cross was turned in by Son at the far post.

The South Korean became the fifth different Spurs player to score 20-plus Premier League goals in a season, following in the footsteps of Teddy Sheringham, Jurgen Klinsmann, Gareth Bale and Kane.

Ibrahima Konate flicked a header over as Liverpool continued to squander set-piece opportunities, while being fortunate to escape conceding another when Son diverted wide from close range.

Almost immediately Klopp switched to 4-2-4, replacing Henderson with forward Diogo Jota and introducing the fresh legs of Kostas Tsimikas at left-back for the tired Robertson.

Ben Davies’ flying block to repel Salah’s drive felt like a pivotal moment, but with 16 minutes remaining Diaz’s low strike deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur and inside Lloris’ right-hand post.

Anfield erupted and, encouraged by the cacophony of noise, the hosts redoubled their efforts.

Conte sent on Davison Sanchez for Sessegnon and later the more defence-minded Harry Winks replaced Dejan Kulusevski, but surprisingly Liverpool did not test Lloris nearly as much as they would have hoped and, as their seconds ticked away, so seemingly did their title hopes.

Categories
football Slides Sports News

WESTHAM SUFFER SEMI-FINAL HEARTACHE IN FRANKFURT AFTER CRESSWELL RED CARD

West Ham’s European dream faded and died after the red mist descended during an acrimonious 1-0 defeat away to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Full-back Aaron Cresswell was sent off in the first half to leave the Hammers facing an uphill battle, and manager David Moyes was also ordered from the touchline late on after angrily kicking a ball back towards a ball kid.

It was a sad end to an uplifting run to the last four of the Europa League, with West Ham beating sides from Croatia, Belgium, Austria, Spain and France to reach a first European semi-final since 1976.

But, trailing 2-1 from the first leg, against the same opposition that West Ham overturned the same deficit against on that famous night 46 years ago, Moyes’ side were unable to emulate Trevor Brooking, Billy Bonds et al by going on to reach the final.

Instead a 3-1 aggregate defeat put paid to their chance of a place in the Champions League – the prize for the winners of the trophy – next season, and as a consequence puts the future of captain and prized asset Declan Rice, who continues to snub a new contract, in doubt.

West Ham had reason to believe they could turn the tie around as Eintracht have the third-worst home record in the Bundesliga this season, losing six and drawing six of their 16 matches.

But on the flip side they have been unbeaten in Europe this season and drew 1-1 in each of their previous home legs with Real Betis and Barcelona.

Eintracht had taken an early lead at the London Stadium a week ago, but this time they suffered an early injury blow when defender Martin Hinteregger limped off after an ill-advised body check on Hammers bulldozer Michail Antonio.

It looked like it could be West Ham’s night as, by contrast, they had started well and looked in control of proceedings despite the hostile atmosphere inside the imposing Deutsche Bank Park.

But they were hit by a huge setback after 19 minutes when Cresswell was given the slip by Jens Hauge and clumsily brought the Eintracht forward down.

Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano initially showed the full-back a yellow card, but after consulting the pitchside monitor he condemned Cresswell, sent off in the previous round against Lyon, to his second harsh but avoidable dismissal of the competition.

West Ham escaped immediate further punishment when Filip Kostic fired the free-kick inches wide, but three minutes and a defensive reshuffle later they were a goal down on the night and two behind on aggregate.

The goal came from Cresswell’s flank on the West Ham left, now occupied by substitute Ben Johnson who had come on for the unlucky Manuel Lanzini.

The West Ham defence was pulled horribly out of shape as Ansgar Knauff had the time and space to roll a low cross for Rafael Santos Borre to convert unchallenged from eight yards out.

The 10 men withstood the inevitable barrage for the rest of the first half, and yet almost grabbed a shock equaliser on the stroke of half-time when Antonio’s far-post attempt was blocked on the line.

After the break Craig Dawson’s header was saved by Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp and Antonio’s cross just eluded Jarrod Bowen in a brave but ultimately fruitless second-half effort.

The build-up to the match had been marred by arrests around the city for scuffles between fans, and it ended in near bedlam with thousands of Eintracht fans streaming onto the pitch with flares at the final whistle, before riot police and dogs restored some semblance of order.

Nevertheless it has been a memorable, exhilarating ride for a club more used to relegation battles in recent years.

The challenge for Moyes now is to pick his tiring team up for the final three Premier League games and make sure they qualify again.