However, this is what West Ham has become under Moyes. This is why skeptical fans say they are huge. There is a contempt for this group, a refusal to wither under pressure, but there is also quality. This run is not accidental. West Ham had already defied expectations by beating Sevilla last month and, although they will have to be good again when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the last four, they deserve to be considered a true European power after the way they dismantled Lyon in a stunning night at the Groupama Stadium. It was hard to think of many better away appearances under Moyes, whose design worked perfectly. The clinical goals from Craig Dawson, Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen were nothing more than what West Ham deserved. Their combination of physical strength and bravery in counterattacks was too much for Lyon, who will regret not taking advantage of the fact that they played the entire second half of last week’s first match at the London Stadium with 10 players, and as stressed by Moyes would not have been possible without a stormy performance by Michael Antonio, whose anticipation in the front game upset Castello Lukeba and Jason Denayer. “I am extremely proud,” said Moyes, who was also excited about how his team had dealt with three key defenders who were missing. Before the start, it was hard not to wonder how West Ham would have done without Curt Zuma and Angelo Ogbonna in central defense and swinging Aaron Creswell at left-back. Dawson and Isa Diop center-back collaboration in a European quarter-final? Surely the run would be over. Jarrod Bowen finished with a good effort for the third. Photo: Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images By the end of the night, however, Moyes praised Diop for overcoming an unstable start and talking about how Dawson gets better with each game. West Ham had remained stable. They had survived a horrific opening spell in which Karl Toko Ekambi had beaten carpentry for Lyon, Vladimir Coufal had escaped a handball penalty appeal and Diop had booked a clumsy foul on Moussa Dembélé. “Lyon played very well for 25 minutes,” Moyes said, but it was not enough. After a while West Ham started to impose themselves, Manuel Lanzini knitted things in the middle and their threat grew whenever they were able to lead Antonio to dangerous positions. Quick guide
Europa League: Leipzig book match with Rangers
projection The informed Christopher Nkunku sent RB Leipzig to the Europa League semi-final with the Rangers, after his double gave the German team a 2-0 victory and the overall victory 3-1 over Atalanta. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Domenico Tedesco’s team took the lead in Bergamo, taking the lead when Nkunku (pictured) sent his home from close range in the 18th minute. Atalanta could not enter the game and the French forward sealed the victory by winning and converting the penalty that was delayed to reach 30 for the season in all competitions. “It’s a fantastic night, it’s not easy to win here,” Tedesco told Uefa.com. Reuters Photo: Marco Luzzani / Getty Images Europe Thank you for your response. Lyon was terrified at the pace of the attacker. Antonio participated when the tireless Pablo Fornals had a shot from 20 yards and almost created the opening goal with a cross for Bowen, who was unlucky not to turn the ball into the goal on the far post. West Ham were growing confident at that stage. Rice and Thomas Sucek outscored Tanguy Ndombele and Thiago Mendes in midfield and Lyon looked vulnerable under the high ball. The set phases were an obvious path to the goal for West Ham, and this was proved when Fornals sent to a corner after 38 minutes. Dawson just wanted it more than the Lyon defenders and his header meant West Ham were ahead overall. Craig Dawson bends over to head West Ham’s first game. Photo: Rob Newell / CameraSport / Getty Images Lyon, whose fans were embarrassed fighting with the security staff after the end of the year, broke again before half time. Ben Johnson, completing Creswell, made a cross from the left and Emerson Palmieri’s poor distance was collected by Rice at the edge of the area. He took a low shot and sent a low ball past Julian Pollersbeck, who replaced Anthony Lopes with a shot from over on the left. The Fiver: subscribe and receive our daily football email. Rice ran all over the pitch to celebrate with West Ham’s unbelievable travel support and the home side’s fans fell silent. This was not in the script and Peter Bosz responded to the break by replacing Ndombele and Romain Faivre with Tetê and Lucas Paquetá, who was on the team despite being positive for Covid yesterday morning. However, West Ham was in her element. Three minutes after the second half, Lyon stopped an attack and repulsed when Rice, Fornals and Lanzini played their way out of trouble and found Antonio. He found the Fornals and when the Spaniard sent Bowen clean, all that was left was for the winger to score with a calm finish from 20 yards. The draw is over: West Ham were too professional to let go of the lead. Frankfurt is next after the amazing Barcelona and West Ham will believe that it can reach the end.
