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West Ham 2-1 Anderlecht: Hammers qualify from Group B in the Conference League after the dismantling of Anderlecht… after holding off a late attack after Sebastiano Esposito’s penalty set off a nerve-wracking final in 87 minutes
- West Ham defeated Anderlecht on Thursday 2-1 in the Europa Conference League
- Said Benrahma got the Hammers off to a perfect start in just the 14th minute
- The Algerian attacker’s free kick flew into the top left corner and made it 1-0
- Jarrod Bowen then doubled the lead with a good finish at 30 minutes
- The home side held off a late attack after Sebastiano Esposito .’s late penalty
- However, Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson’s injuries will concern David Moyes
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With a strike that can only attract the attention of a certain manager of the national team, Jarrod Bowen almost saw West Ham reach the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League.
Mathematically, they have not been confirmed to lead their group, but with West Ham needing just a point from their last two games – against Denmark’s Silkeborg and Romania’s FCSB – manager David Moyes knows there is a Devon Loch-esque collapse from here. is needed.
Bowen scored his third goal in four games since the international match in which he was an unused substitute for England, a scorching attack on Said Benrahma’s free-kick opener.
Said Benrahma opened the score from afar in the 14th minute with a precise free kick
Jarrod Bowen doubled David Moyes’s lead with an attack from the edge of the box
It showed Bowen’s confidence and the 25-year-old can now say he is West Ham’s European top scorer, having tied six goals with Johnny Byrne and David Cross.
England boss Gareth Southgate will watch as he tries to make a final 26-man squad for this winter’s World Cup. As it stands, Bowen can do no more than he does now.
Last night’s win means West Ham are guaranteed to be at least second in their group, which would send them to a two-legged play-off for the round of 16.
Moyes doesn’t want that, because he’s already complained about their silly schedule. He wants the first place and in reality they will certainly get it.
An individual fight worth watching was Lucas Paqueta against Amadou Diawara. The Anderlecht midfielder was not happy last week when Paqueta showed some silky skills after coming on as a substitute, and thought it was an arrogant attempt to clear them.
Diawara warned he would “not tolerate” such showboating and within 30 seconds Paqueta was on the ground after tripping.
The Brazilian was part of a flowing front three alongside Bowen and Benrahma who took turns leading West Ham. It was Paqueta’s pass to centrally positioned Benrahma in the 14th minute, which led to a deserved free kick 25 yards from goal.
Aaron Cresswell stood over it, but he had already shot a free kick over the bar. This time it was Benrahma’s turn and he curled the ball beautifully into the corner for 1-0.
Anderlecht’s supporters fell silent. At the start of the match, the end was full of anticipation, along with a few too many flare-ups.
Then they saw their side concede again in the 30th minute thanks to Bowen’s belter. He controlled the ball, about to shoot himself and made a stunning attack from the edge of the box.
Sebastiano Esposito’s penalty in the 87th minute put a nerve-racking end to the game for the hosts
The Italian striker won the penalty after a dubious challenge from defender Ben Johnson
A dubious penalty 87 minutes into the game for the visitors, conceded by Ben Johnson for a foul on Sebastiano Esposito, who then scored himself, provided an unnecessarily nerve-wracking end.
It only distracted the Anderlecht fans for a while, who had used plastic chairs as rockets for the last 10 minutes of this game and threw flares at home support.
Those were ugly scenes, but luckily for West Ham this match was won by two beautiful moments from Bowen and Benrahma.
Anderlecht fans used plastic chairs as rockets to throw at West Ham supporters