Tag: UEFA Europa League

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RANGERS REACH EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL AFTER EDGING OUT RB LEIPZIG IN IBROX THRILLER

Rangers won through to the Europa League final in sensational style with 3-1 semi-final second-leg victory over RB Leipzig to emerge 3-2 winners on aggregate.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Germany, and in the biggest game at Ibrox in 50 years, Light Blues skipper James Tavernier levelled the tie in the 18th minute with a close-range finish.

Amid a fever-pitch atmosphere, midfielder Glen Kamara drove in a terrific second from 20 yards just six minutes later and the Gers fans were in dreamland at the interval.

France striker Christopher Nkunku brought Leipzig back into it when he levelled the tie in the 70th minute with a smart volley but Gers midfielder John Lundstram fired in with 10 minutes remaining to book a place in the Seville final against Eintracht Frankfurt.

The frantic search for tickets, flights and hotels for Spain is now under way after Rangers reached their first European final in 14 years on a never-to-be-forgotten night in Govan.

It has been an epic journey for Rangers who were playing their 18th game in UEFA competitions this season against Leipzig.

After much speculation, striker Kemar Roofe remained out injured with Aaron Ramsey declared fit enough only for the bench as Joe Aribo was handed a main striker’s role.

Midfielders Ryan Jack and Kamara and attacker Scott Wright returned, with Scott Arfield, Steven Davis and Fashion Sakala dropping to the bench.

Leipzig boss Domenico Tedesco had Willi Orban, Kevin Kampl and Mohamed Simakan back from suspension with the former two included in the staring line-up.

It was Rangers most important game at Ibrox since they beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the 1972 European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final second leg on their way to winning the trophy, and the stadium shook beforehand with the noise of excited Gers fans.

After a minute’s silence before kick-off in tribute to popular kitman Jimmy Bell who died on Tuesday both sides battled frantically for control.

Visiting keeper and skipper Peter Gulacsi saved a long-distance drive from Jack in the seventh minute before Orban headed a corner wide at the other end.

However, right-back Tavernier, who scored twice against Braga in the previous round at Ibrox, struck the first blow, racing in at the back post to knock in a cross from Ryan Kent after good work by Kamara in keeping the move alive on the touchline.

More mayhem ensued when Aribo played in Wright to lay the ball off to Kamara who guided a left-footed shot from outside the box past the outstretched arms of Gulacsi.

Ibrox was in uproar.

Aribo then somehow mis-kicked from five yards out after being set up by Tavernier’s header from Borna Barisic’s deep cross.

Just before the break the makeshift centre-forward then fell to the ground after blocking a powerful free-kick from Angelino with his face and was replaced by Sakala.

With defenders Connor Goldson, Calvin Bassey and Barisic booked in the first half, the home side had to be cautious – yet retain a threat – as the Bundesliga outfit went in search of a tie leveller.

Wright and Jack made way for Arfield and Leon Balogun just before the hour-mark as the visitors began to dominate.

Gers keeper Allan McGregor made a great save from Konrad Laimer’s drive but moments later he had no chance when Angelino crossed from the left for Nkunku to volley in from 10 yards and the pendulum looked like it had swung towards the visitors.

But only until Lundstram pounced when Kent’s cross from the left was cleared to his feet 12 yards from goal and he gleefully drove it low into the net.

Rangers were on their way to Seville.

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WESTHAM REACH EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI-FINALS WITH VICTORY IN LYON

West Ham roared to an historic Europa League triumph in Lyon to reach a first European semi-final in 46 years after a stunning 3-0 second-leg victory.

David Moyes’ side were big underdogs heading to the city overlooked by the French Alps following last week’s 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.

But it was hosts Lyon who were left with a mountain to climb after two goals in seven minutes at the end of the first half from Craig Dawson and Declan Rice put West Ham in control.

When Jarrod Bowen made it 3-0, and 4-1 on aggregate, Lyon heads dropped as the price of flights to Frankfurt rocketed – Eintracht Frankfurt having shocked Barcelona in their last-eight clash to reach the last four and book a meeting with the Hammers.

That showdown will coincidentally be a repeat of West Ham’s last appearance in the last four of a major European semi-final, in 1976.

In fact, this memorable victory took place 40 years ago to the day since Trevor Brooking, Billy Bonds and company stunned the Germans 3-1 in the second leg at Upton Park to reach the final.

West Ham have already enjoyed a remarkable season having remained in the fight for the top six while topping their Europa League group and then sending six-time winners Sevilla packing.

This looked another huge task for Moyes’ side, however, against another team with serious European pedigree who only 18 months ago knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League.

As if the job in hand was not difficult enough, Moyes was forced to name a makeshift defence shorn of Kurt Zouma through injury and Aaron Cresswell due to suspension following his red card in the first leg.

The new-look back four was almost breached after only five minutes when Cameroon forward Karl Toko Ekambi smacked a shot against the foot of Alphonse Areola’s near post.

Yet West Ham were able to gradually take Lyon’s sting out of the game, and with their first attack Pablo Fornals tested stand-in goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck, in for injured first-choice Anthony Lopes, from the edge of the area.

Midway through the first half some patient West Ham build-up play saw Michail Antonio chip in a cross which Bowen, at full stretch, could only jab into the side-netting.

But it was centre-half Dawson, the £2million signing from Watford who has become something of a cult figure during West Ham’s European adventure, who enhanced his reputation further seven minutes before half-time.

After Bowen’s shot had deflected off Jason Denayer for a corner, Fornals whipped in a near post cross and Dawson ploughed in front of Moussa Dembele to crash his header home.

The Hammers went 2-0 ahead, and 3-1 up on aggregate, moments before half-time when a poor clearing header from Emerson fell to Rice 20 yards out.

The England midfielder’s shot was low and skidding, and Pollersbeck was beaten by the bounce and a slight deflection off the toe of defender Castello Lukeba.

Bowen, West Ham’s goalscorer in the first leg, fired them into dreamland three minutes into the second half.

Antonio held the ball up before laying off to Fornals, who swept a first-time pass into the path of Bowen.

The England hopeful still had plenty to do, but he threaded a superb finish between the dive of Pollersbeck and the inside of the far post.

Rice, seemingly forever linked with a move to Chelsea or Manchester United, was given a breather two minutes from the end and soaked up the celebrations from the delirious, disbelieving away end, high up at the vast Groupama Stadium.

The 23-year-old could yet fulfil his ambition to play in the Champions League with West Ham next season, were they to go on and win this competition.

After a glory night like this, Moyes will fancy his chances of taking his side all the way.

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WEST HAM BATTLE TO LYON DRAW AFTER LOSING AARON CRESSWELL TO FIRST-HALF RED CARD .

Jarrod Bowen was on target as West Ham battled to a 1-1 Europa League quarter-final first-leg draw against Lyon after Aaron Cresswell was controversially sent off.

The Hammers, playing in the latter stages of a major European competition for the first time in 41 years, were up against it after Cresswell was harshly dismissed for a foul on Moussa Dembele before half-time.

The decision could have left West Ham with a mountain to climb ahead of the second leg in the French city overlooked by the Alps next week.

But Bowen’s second goal in as many matches, after a month out injured, put the 10 men 1-0 up before Tottenham loanee Tanguy Ndombele hauled Lyon level.

Nevertheless, a draw keeps West Ham’s dream of a place in the semi-finals, against either Barcelona or Eintracht Frankfurt, well and truly alive.

It promises to be a spicy return leg in the culinary capital of France after tempers occasionally boiled over, while Dembele’s Cristiano Ronaldo-style wink after Cresswell’s red card will not have gone unnoticed among the Hammers ranks.

Lyon may be having an erratic season domestically – they currently lie ninth in Ligue 1 – but they are unbeaten in this competition and knocked out Porto in the last 16.

They are also seasoned European campaigners and quickly began to showcase their repertoire of the darker arts, infuriating West Ham when Jerome Boateng and Ndombele both stayed down after no foul had been given.

German referee Felix Zwayer seemed taken in by their antics, stopping play each time with West Ham looking to attack.

Then, in first-half stoppage time and with West Ham frustration growing, Cresswell suddenly found himself chasing down Dembele and pulled him back on the edge of the box.

Kurt Zouma was also on the scene as cover but Zwayer decided Cresswell was the last man and pulled out a straight red card, to the obvious delight of the winking Dembele and the dismay of David Moyes.

The Hammers manager’s grasp of German is not known, but he evidently made his feelings clear enough as Zwayer booked him as he stormed down the tunnel.

But West Ham’s sense of injustice fuelled them into taking the lead seven minutes into the second half.

Michail Antonio’s burst forward caused havoc in the Lyon defence and Pablo Fornals tried to slip in Bowen.

Boateng made a mess of his attempt to control the ball and it rolled behind Bowen, but the winger managed to retrieve it, turn and clip the ball over Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes via a deflection off the sliding Boateng.

However, Lyon grabbed a 66th-minute equaliser when Ndombele got in the box to fire home from six yards after a cross from substitute Tete hit Ryan Fredericks.

There was a sour note to the match after a pitch invader – the second of the game – jumped out of the home end and actually stopped a promising Hammers attack before he was escorted off.

Dembele put a header over as West Ham saw out eight nervy minutes of stoppage time to give themselves a fighting chance in seven days.

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DANJUMA GIVES VILLARREAL FIRST LEG ADVANTAGE OVER BAYERN MUNICH

Arnaut Danjuma’s early goal secured Villarreal a deserved 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Former Bournemouth winger Danjuma gave the Spaniards a slender advantage going into the return leg by scoring the only goal early in the first half at Estadio de la Ceramica.

But it could have been worse for Bayern, who produced a disappointing display, as Villarreal had another effort ruled out for offside before they struck a post through Gerard Moreno.

The home side, backed by a vociferous crowd, made an excellent start and took an eighth-minute lead through Danjuma.

On-loan Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso cut the ball back into the area before Danjuma diverted Daniel Parejo’s shot into the bottom corner.

Spain defender Raul Albiol’s well-timed challenge on the edge of the box denied Serge Gnabry a scoring chance as Bayern looked to get a foothold in the game.

But the German champions were relieved to see Pau Torres fail to connect with a flick-on from Parejo’s free-kick as Villarreal threatened again.

And the stadium erupted just before the break when the Spaniards thought they had taken a deserved two-goal lead.

Francis Coquelin’s attempted cross flew into the net, but referee Anthony Taylor was told the French midfielder had been offside after a VAR check and Bayern breathed again.

The visitors, who had failed to register a shot on target, had it all to do at half-time.

Thomas Muller was inches away from diverting in a cross for an equaliser early in the second period, but there was no respite for Bayern, who were spared by the woodwork when Moreno’s shot hit a post in the 53rd minute.

Bayern sent on Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka for Gnabry and Muller and in the 66th minute Alphonso Davies fired straight at Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli. It was Bayern’s first effort on target.

The Bundesliga side pressed in the final 15 minutes, but still found chances hard to come by and Alfonso Pedraza fired a golden chance wide for Villarreal in the 87th minute.

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WESTHAM SUFFER NARROW EUROPA LEAGUE DEFEAT AT SEVILLA

West Ham’s first European knock-out tie in over 40 years ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat by serial Europa League winners Sevilla.

A second-half goal by Moroccan forward Munir, who was only in the starting line-up after Ivan Rakitic was injured in the warm-up, settled the first leg in the Spanish side’s favour.

But Hammers boss David Moyes will have seen enough to feel his side are capable of overturning a one-goal deficit at the London Stadium in a week’s time and prolonging their European adventure.

It says a lot about how far West have have come in a short space of time that it was four years ago to the day since they were beaten 3-0 at home by Burnley in a game marred by pitch invasions and protests against the owners.

Now the Hammers are rubbing shoulders with the continent’s elite and stepping out for the club’s biggest night on the European stage since 1981.

This was probably the toughest draw they could have landed in the round of 16, given Sevilla are the most successful team in the tournament’s history as six-time winners – regularly knocking out English clubs along the way – as well as being Real Madrid’s closest challengers for the LaLiga title.

Julen Lopetegui’s side have lost just twice in the league all season and have the best defensive record in the division, conceding just 18 goals in 27 games.

But they have a host of injury absentees and suffered another blow when the dangerous former Barcelona midfielder Rakitic was ruled out on his 34th birthday.

The Hammers were without injured top-scorer Jarrod Bowen, but Declan Rice returned from illness to captain the team at a raucous Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.

Munir should have opened the scoring inside the first five minutes, but he headed Marcos Acuna’s cross wide from in front of goal.

West Ham created a glorious chance with 10 minutes gone, Manuel Lanzini’s free-kick headed across goal by Rice straight to Nikola Vlasic

The Croatian had a free header six yards out but planted it too close to Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who stuck out a hand to make a stunning reaction save.

Sevilla were moving the ball around slickly and Munir got in again after being played through by Oliver Torres but rolled his shot wide, before Alphonse Areola saved a header from Youssef En-Nesyri.

But the Hammers were still giving as good as they got, with Vlasic forcing a low save from Bounou with a near-post drive before half-time.

After the break Michail Antonio laid the ball back to the edge of the area from where Tomas Soucek hit a rising drive which Bonou palmed clear.

But Sevilla remained the clearer threat and Munir volleyed over before En-Nesyri headed another decent opportunity straight at Areola.

The home fans took the noise levels up from loud to deafening and it had its effect when their side took the lead on the hour mark.

After Kurt Zouma was booked for a foul in a dangerous position, Acuna swung over a free-kick which found Munir, who steered a wonderful side-footed volley home at the far post.

West Ham needed to keep their composure, and they were relieved to see a Jesus Corona volley deflected wide.

Nevertheless, the visitors still had a puncher’s chance and substitute Said Benrahma almost set up an equaliser for Pablo Fornals, who was only denied by a last-ditch block from former Manchester City full-back Jesus Navas to preserve Sevilla’s narrow lead in a tie which West Ham will feel they are still very much in.

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VILLAREAL BEAT ATALANTA TO SECURE UCL LAST 16

Villarreal clinched the final place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Thursday, while Leicester failed to advance in the Europa League.

Villarreal beat Atalanta 3-2 away in a game postponed from Wednesday because of heavy snow in northern Italy.

The Spanish side only needed a draw to advance as runner-up from Group F but jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 51st minute, with Arnaut Danjuma scoring twice. Atalanta answered with goals from Duvan Zapata and substitute Ruslan Malinovskyi but it was too late to turn things around.

Atalanta finished third in the group and will enter a playoff to get into the last 16 of the second-tier Europa League, the competition Villarreal won last season.

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LEICESTER CRASH OUT OF EUROPA LEAGUE AFTER NAPOLI DEFEAT

Leicester are out of the Europa League after losing 3-2 at Napoli.

An end-to-end encounter saw four goals shared in the first half in Naples, where the hosts led 2-0 courtesy of strikes from Adam Ounas and Eljif Elmas.

However, the Foxes responded through Jonny Evans and academy graduate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first goal for the club.

Elmas struck again early in the second half and, despite Brendan Rodgers’ side having chances to get themselves level once more, it proved decisive.

Leicester began the night top of Group C, but they ended it in third place and headed into the Europa Conference League after their defeat was compounded by Spartak Moscow’s 1-0 win at Legia Warsaw, with the Russian club topping the table.

Much of the pre-match talk was of Leicester having to leave behind seven players through illness. Rodgers confirmed some of the unnamed players had tested positive for coronavirus, while others had been left at home as a precaution.

But it was a strong Foxes team that took to the field, which included Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans returning from a five-match absence with a calf problem.

Napoli were also ravaged by injury, with boss Luciano Spalletti without star players Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Osimhen, Lorenzo Insigne and Fabian Ruiz. Frank Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka were also absent.

Leicester made a bright start and should have taken an early lead. Dewsbury-Hall charged down the left flank all the way to the by-line and his far-post cross was met by Timothy Castagne inside the six-yard box, but goalkeeper Alex Meret somehow made a smothering save on his goal line.

Napoli went straight up the other end and scored. A mistake by Tielemans, although the midfielder was not helped by the pass from Caglar Soyuncu, resulted in Ounas finding the corner of the net with a low shot across Kasper Schmeichel after four minutes.

It saw the midfielder mark his first start for the club since April 2019 with a goal.

Elmas doubled Napoli’s lead 20 minutes later. Andrea Petagna strolled through the middle of the Leicester defence before unselfishly teeing up Elmas for a tap -in.

With Spartak Moscow also leading at Legia Warsaw, it looked like the Foxes were exiting the Europa League with a whimper.

However, Evans immediately pulled a goal back, smashing home the loose ball from eight yards out after James Maddison’s free-kick had struck a defender and landed in his path.

With 33 minutes on the clock, Leicester were level. Another free-kick was only half-cleared by the hosts and Dewsbury-Hall volleyed the ball into the bottom corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area.

Leicester’s hard work in getting back into the match was almost undone at the beginning of the second half, with only a fine save by Schmeichel by his near post preventing Ounas from getting his second goal of the night.

However, the Foxes did find themselves behind again after 53 minutes when Elmas grabbed his second goal of the night, controlling Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s low cross before giving Schmeichel no chance with his close-range finish.

Immediately at the other end, Di Lorenzo inexplicably passed the ball across his own penalty area where Maddison intercepted before, with the goal at his mercy, letting Napoli off the hook as his shot clipped the outside of a post and went wide.

The frenetic pace slowed a little after that, with Napoli becoming increasingly more comfortable to sit back and allow Leicester more possession. The Foxes were not creating chances with their previous frequency and it was not until the 75th minute that Jamie Vardy riffled a shot into the side-netting.

Five minutes later Dewsbury-Hall slipped at the vital moment as he attempted to round off a lovely Leicester attack.

The Foxes looked like they might be handed a dramatic reprieve in Warsaw when Legia were awarded a penalty deep into injury time. An equaliser would have see Leicester go through despite their defeat, but the spot-kick was saved.

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Coronavirus outbreak forces Spurs out of Rennes clash

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has confirmed that eight of the club’s first-team players and five members of staff have tested positive for coronavirus.

Spurs were due to face Rennes in the Europa Conference League on Thursday but the game has been postponed. 

Their Premier League fixture against Brighton on Sunday is also under review, with Conte fearing more positive tests,

A statement on  Tottenham’s official website read: “We can confirm that our UEFA Europa Conference League Group G home fixture against Rennes will not take place tomorrow after a number of positive coronavirus cases at the club. 

“Discussions are ongoing with UEFA and we shall provide a further update on this fixture in due course. 

“Additionally, following discussions with the Health Security Agency and DCMS advisers, the club has been advised to close the first team area of its training centre at this time, in the interests of the health and safety of players and staff. 

“All other areas of the training centre remain operational.”

Before news broke of the postponement, Conte said: “The situation makes me very upset because it is serious. 

“It’s contagious and there is a big infection. Now we are a bit scared because tomorrow we don’t know what will happen.

“Every day, we are having more positives. Everyone is a bit scared. People have families. Why [do] we have to take the risk? This is my question.

“Today, two positives. And tomorrow, who? Me? I don’t know. Better me than a player for sure but I think it’s not right for everyone. We have contact with our families.

“We had 11 players available for the match and by the end of the training session today one of the players who would start tomorrow is now positive. It’s scary. We’re all having contact.”

With regards to the Seagulls clash, Premier League rules state permission will not be granted to postpone a match if a club has 14 or more players available.

But the postponement of games is taken on a case-by-case basis and a decision is made by the Premier League board if a request is received from a club.

Spurs have already seen a top-flight game postponed this season after their clash with Burnley last month was called off due to heavy snow.

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Xavi’s men crash out of Champions League

Barcelona have been eliminated from the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

Xavi’s side drop into the Europa League and will not appear in the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

Already assured of top spot in Group E, first-half goals from Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane put Bayern well on the way to progressing with a 100 per cent record.

Jamal Musiala ensured that Julian Nagelsmann’s side did just that when he sealed the victory just after the hour mark in another routine victory for the hosts in this fixture.

To avoid elimination, Barca needed to win or hope that Benfica failed to beat Dynamo Kiev elsewhere in the final round of group fixtures.

Jordi Alba tested Manuel Neuer from distance, while Ousmane Dembele swept a shot over from Memphis Depay’s square ball.

But Barca fell behind in the 34th minute; Robert Lewandowski cleverly twisting and turning before crossing for Muller, whose looping header crossed the line before Ronald Araujo could volley clear.

Bayern doubled their lead just before the break with Sane’s powerful 30-yard strike completely perplexing Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Sane squandered a golden opportunity for his second goal shortly after the restart when somehow failing to turn the ball home from inside the six-yard box after Kingsley Coman cushioned Alphonso Davies’ cross into his path.

Bayern’s third goal did arrive in the 62nd minute as Musiala sealed the deal by slotting home following a strong run and cross by Davies.

Bayern will buoyantly march towards the knockout stages when the competition resumes in February, with the draw for the last 16 to take place on Monday.

With six wins from six, Nagelsmann’s side are one of only three teams to record maximum points during this season’s group phase – along with Liverpool and Ajax.

They have now scored two or more goals in each of their last 12 home matches in this competition, while it was also their fourth straight win over Barca, who must reset their focus to the Europa League after this humbling early exit.

It was a landmark day for Muller, who reached 50 Champions League goals with his clever first-half header.

That was Muller’s eighth strike in seven appearances against Barca – his highest tally against any opponent in the competition, and the most that any player has managed against the Catalan giants in the European Cup or Champions League.

Although he did brilliantly to provide the assist for Muller’s header, Lewandowski was not at his best on Wednesday. Not only did the talisman fail to register a single shot on goal before being replaced 13 minutes from time, but his tallies of 20 touches and 12 passes were the lowest recorded by any Bayern starter.

He subsequently missed the opportunity to become the first player to score 10 or more goals during the Champions League group stage on multiple occasions, as well as the second to find the net in 10 successive matches in the competition.

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WESTHAM BOOK PLACE IN EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 WITH WIN AT RAPID VIENNA

West Ham waltzed into the last 16 of the Europa League with a game to spare after a 2-0 victory at Rapid Vienna.

First-half goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Mark Noble wrapped up top spot in Group H for David Moyes’ side.

It was an important victory for the Hammers as they are now straight through to the knockout stage having avoided a play-off in February against a team dropping from the Champions League.

Moyes was even able to make eight changes to his side, resting the likes of Declan Rice and Michail Antonio, and still comfortably get the job done.

With Vienna in a new coronavirus lockdown the match was played in an empty stadium, with Rapid unable to call on their boisterous fans to lift them, and West Ham simply had too much class.

They almost got off to the perfect start when Arthur Masuaku drove a low cross into the box for the sliding Jarrod Bowen to poke just wide after five minutes.

Nikola Vlasic and Yarmolenko both fired narrowly over in a bright opening from the visitors.

The only moment of mild alarm came when Kelvin Arase weaved into a shooting position, and his effort was saved by back-up keeper Alphonse Areola on his way to a fifth clean sheet in six appearances for the Hammers.

Their dominance finally told six minutes before half-time when Vlasic crossed from the left and Yarmolenko was left with a simple header back across goal.

It was a first Hammers goal since January for the Ukraine international, who has played only 52 minutes in the Premier League this season.

Yarmolenko had a big hand in the second goal in first-half stoppage time after he turned Rapid skipper Maximilian Hofmann in the area and was brought down.

Captain Noble, a man clearly relishing this European adventure in his 18th and final season at the club, made no mistake from the spot.

After the break Bowen’s quick feet in the area accounted for three defenders, but his shot was straight at Rapid goalkeeper Paul Gartler.

Gartler also denied Tomas Soucek before Bowen’s follow-up was blocked on the line.

Teenage striker Sonny Perkins came on as a substitute for his Hammers debut and almost marked it with a goal when he met Vladimir Coufal’s cross with a fine header, but Gartler made a stunning reflex save and West Ham had to settle for two.