Jarrod Bowen scored a brace to help West Ham produce one of the most comfortable football scores of the weekend in the Europa Conference League. David Moyes’ team, which led 2-0 after the first leg, won the return match 4-0 at the London Stadium to advance as 6-0 winners on aggregate. Gianluca Scamacca opened the scoring (20) before Gustavo Ledes was sent off just before halftime for a late tackle on Pablo Fornals. West Ham took full advantage of the red card, with Bowen scoring twice in two second-half minutes, followed by a remarkable goal for Mubama, who is only 18 years old. The Irons’ overwhelming triumph over the Cypriots, their 10th successive win in the European Conference League this season, puts them in the final eight.
Scamacca shone early on after being recalled, giving West Ham a 20th-minute lead with a prodded attempt that slid through goalkeeper Kenan Piric. Scamacca scored again with a slick finish shortly later, but it was ruled out for offside, and the visitors were also denied a goal by the linesman’s flag. After a VAR review, the Cypriots were reduced to 10 men in the 45th minute when Ledes was sent off for a studs-up tackle on Fornals. West Ham extended their lead two minutes into the second half when Bowen followed in after Scamacca’s attempt was parried to him at the far post.
Bowen, who had missed out on the England selection before the game, scored his second with a beautiful looping header just two minutes later to become West Ham’s leading scorer in European competitions with eight goals. Another historic moment occurred when local boy Mubama, who has been with the club since the age of eight, scored his first senior goal after flicking in Tomas Soucek’s header at a corner. West Ham advances to their second European quarter-final in a row after reaching the Europa League semi-finals last year.
“We performed quite well. It was always a dicey game, and if they grabbed a goal back, we might get a little worried. It’s pretty nice. Two quarter-finals in two years in Europe is not something that happens all the time. We’ve had some fantastic vacations and played in some fantastic stadiums. It’s been fantastic for the club, its staff, and its players,” West Ham manager David Moyes said. “He did well. The goal was a little lucky, but he needs goals for confidence. He’s a pretty kind kid that did a lot of good tonight. Hopefully, it will motivate him. Nothing makes you happier than giving young athletes a chance. It’s a difficult route, especially in the Premier League, but the outcome tonight gave us a chance. He runs, he works, and he doesn’t think twice about his efforts. He’s done exceptionally well.”
Meanwhile, David Moyes’ West Ham was drawn against Gent in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals. The Belgian team is presently fifth in their local league and defeated Istanbul Basaksehir in the last 16 this week. Gent’s team includes 20-year-old attacker Gift Orban, who scored the fastest hat-trick in UEFA competition history against Istanbul, scoring his treble in just 205 seconds in the second leg. If the Hammers win, they will face either AZ Alkmaar or Anderlecht in the semi-finals.
Erik ten Hag’s team has previously defeated Barcelona and Real Betis in the Europa League knockout stages, but they will now face Seville in the last eight next month. If United defeats Sevilla in the next round, they will face the winner of Juventus’ match against Sporting, the team who eliminated Arsenal on Thursday. In other matches, Jose Mourinho’s Roma will face Feyenoord in a rematch of last year’s European Conference League final, while Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen will face Union Saint-Gilloise, Brighton’s sister club.
United will face the team renowned as the Europa League experts, Sevilla, who have won six editions of the event since 2006. Sevilla’s most recent title came in 2020 when they defeated Manchester United in the semi-finals. Manchester United has yet to defeat Sevilla in European play, drawing one and losing one in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2017-18 and losing in the Europa League semi-final in 2020. Sevilla has won six of their previous eight European knockout matches (including finals) against English clubs, failing only against Leicester in the 2016-17 Champions League and West Ham in the Europa League last season.
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