West Ham United on Thursday moved a step closer to a first European final for 47 years as Michail Antonio sealed a 2-1 win over Dutch side AZ in their UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final first leg.
While West Ham eye a landmark final appearance, Basel are chasing history of their own after seizing control of the other semi-final with a dramatic 2-1 victory against ACF Fiorentina.
At the London Stadium, David Moyes’ side trailed to Tijjani Reijnders’ first-half goal, before fighting back with a stirring display after halftime.
Photo: Reuters
Said Benrahma equalized with a penalty, before Antonio bagged the late winner to put the Irons in control of the tie ahead of the second leg in the Netherlands next week.
“It was a strange game to analyze. AZ played well in the buildup. We were a bit harum-scarum. We made some stupid decisions, shooting from 30 yards and not taking chances, but in the end I’m happy with the result,” Moyes said.
West Ham have won 12 of their 13 games in the competition this season, taking them to the brink of a first major trophy since the 1979-1980 FA Cup.
Last season, the Irons lost in the Europa League semi-finals against Eintracht Frankfurt, but they are in position to go further this term.
The east Londoners have not reached a major European final since they were beaten by RSC Anderlecht in the 1975-1976 Cup Winners Cup showpiece.
West Ham’s win against Manchester United on Sunday effectively sealed their English Premier League survival.
That leaves Moyes’ men free to concentrate on winning the club’s first European trophy since the Cup Winners Cup in 1964-1965.
“We’ve got a really tough game to come. I’m too humble to say we’re already in the final. Alkmaar have some good players and they showed it tonight,” Moyes said.
Despite being one of the smaller clubs in the Dutch Eredivisie, AZ have reached their first European semi-final since 2004-2005.
That success is a tribute to the astute financial model employed by the club’s owners, who use the “Moneyball” philosophy popularized by their minority shareholder Billy Beane during his time running baseball’s Oakland Athletics.
West Ham had no intention of becoming the latest victims of AZ’s underdog story as they recovered impressively from Reijnders’ 41st-minute sucker punch.
Reijnders unloaded a fierce drive that took an awkward bounce as it skipped over Alphonse Areola’s misjudged dive, but AZ had never won on English soil and their hopes of a first victory were dashed in the 67th minute.
As Jarrod Bowen leaped to head over from close range, Mathew Ryan’s attempt to punch clear made contact with the winger’s head, conceding a penalty that Benrahma smashed past the AZ goalkeeper.
Roared on by the raucous capacity crowd, West Ham took the lead in the 76th minute when Antonio stabbed in from close range after Lucas Paqueta’s header was blocked on the line.
Swiss club Basel have even less European pedigree than West Ham, but that could be about to change after they stunned Serie A side Fiorentina.
Fiorentina took the lead in the 25th minute at the Stadio Artemio Franchi when Cristiano Biraghi’s corner was flicked on by Lucas Martinez Quarta and Arthur Cabral pounced with a perfectly placed header.
At the expense of his former club, the Brazilian forward’s seventh Europa Conference League goal this season made him the tournament’s leading scorer.
Basel are a disappointing fifth in the Swiss Super League and have never reached a European final, but they snatched an equalizer in the 71st minute as a flowing move culminated with Andy Diouf’s clinical finish into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area.
In the third minute of stoppage-time, on-loan Inter forward Darian Males teed up Zeki Amdouni for a predatory finish that leaves Basel on the verge of becoming the first Swiss club to reach a European final.
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