For the most part, it was a dominant West Ham performance against Anderlecht, on Thursday evening.
Barring a decent first-half spell for the hosts, West Ham had much of the possession and created a fair amount of goalscoring opportunities. It seemed for most of the game, as if they would regret not taking those, as the game headed towards a 0-0 draw.
That would have been a decent result to take away from Belgium for The Hammers. However, they turned a decent result into a great one, as substitute Gianluca Scamacca gave the visitors a well-deserved lead, just before the 80 minute mark.
Alphonse Areola had to make a fantastic save, to deny Fabio Silva's header from close range. However, that was the only nervy moment following the opener and West Ham were able to take home a massive three points.
Here are some of the main takeaways from the action at Lotto Park:
Another outstanding European performance from Flynn Downes
The 23-year-old midfielder made his second competitive start for West Ham. After a very impressive performance on the opening night of the UECL against FCSB, Downes had another brilliant game, last night.
David Moyes had publicly questioned Downes' ability, in his first few weeks at his new club. “The things I’ve seen of him, he needs to do better" were the words of Moyes, in August, when discussing the midfielder's progress, following his signing from Swansea.
Chances have been fairly limited for Downes this season. The fact that he was trusted with a starting spot in the toughest game of the group, on paper, does suggest that Moyes' level of trust in Downes has increased, significantly.
"Flynn has given us something to think about. He’s only just starting to get the feel of it in training, he’s beginning to get used to what we want. He did a really good job tonight." stated Moyes after the game. The impressive recent performances of Downes will increase the rising demand for him to be given a chance to start a Premier League game. From what he has shown on the pitch, it may be reasonable to suggest that he is ready for his chance, when and if it arrives.
Gianluca Scamacca showed his class
Scamacca made it goals in back-to-back West Ham games. Following on from his magnificent volley against Wolves, he was able to come on and impress again, last night.
It was not only the goal that Scamacca should be content with from his 20 minute cameo, replacing Michail Antonio. Again, he linked up well with his team-mates, showed some very good footwork and ball control and caused the opposing defence some serious discomfort.
He demonstrated top-class forward play for his eventual goal. Promptly, Scamacca spotted the space left in behind by Wesley Hoedt - who threw himself out to close down Lucas Paqueta, made the run into the free area and produced a perfect snap-shot, after being played in by the Brazilian.
The Italian forward now takes his UECL goal tally up to four - from five appearances (four starts). Both him and Antonio make up a dangerous forward combination, with the shared workload allowing both to be fresh, whenever either of them are called upon to play.
For now, it seems that Scamacca is offering just that bit more to the West Ham team. He should expect to be back in the starting 11, for Sunday's London derby against Fulham.
Julien Duranville looks a very exciting talent
The 16-year-old has become a fairly regular player for Anderlecht, this season. He has now appeared - started, or off the bench, in all of his club's last seven games.
Yesterday, he replaced Francis Amuzu at half-time and covered all of the left side, in a wing-back/wide midfield role. He was hugely impressive, considering his young age and the quality of opposition.
Duranville completed all 12 of his attempted passes, including one key pass and was an energetic presence in the second 45 minutes. As a natural winger, his attacking capabilities were clear to see, so his ability to effectively contribute to his team, when out of possession, was particularly impressive.
The Belgium U19 international does not turn 17 until May of next year. He seems to be Anderlecht's brightest prospect - performances like this, especially in difficult games, should increase the spotlight on this young talent.
Group B ambitions become clearly defined at halfway point
Following matchday three and the results in the two games within the group, all four teams now know what they are going to be playing for, in the second half of group fixtures.
For West Ham, a dominant, five point advantage at the top of the group means they should feel confident of achieving top spot. With home fixtures coming up against Anderlecht and Silkeborg, they will aim to have first place sown up, before their final fixture, at FCSB.
While Anderlecht will remain the favourites for second place, Silkeborg's dominant 5-0 win over FCSB leaves them just a point behind the Belgian side. With Silkeborg hosting the two teams' meeting, on the final matchday, it may, very likely, come down to their head-to-head clash to settle second place in the group.
Things look fairly bleak for FCSB. Their woeful league form has meant that their focus now seems to lie on rectifying their 13th position, in the Romanian top division. They left out several of their key players, who did not travel to Denmark for yesterday's mauling. The decision suggests that the UECL is not something at the forefront of their minds and with such an attitude, they are in danger of further embarrassment in the group stage.