West Ham United booked their place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League on Thursday night, beating Belgian side Anderlecht 2-1 at the London Stadium.
The Hammers raced into a 2-0 lead within half an hour through goals from Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahama, and looked to be holding out relatively comfortably until a penalty for the visitors was put away by Sebastiano Esposito.
Coming in the 89th minute however, it was too little too late for Felice Mazzu's team, and David Moyes left the happier of the two coaches after the fourth group stage matchday of the campaign came to a close.
West Ham through to the knockouts
For the second year running, West Ham will be playing European football in the New Year. Four wins from their opening four games means that qualification to the next stage of the Europa Conference League is guaranteed, with only a point more to cement top spot in group B.
One table they are very far from the top of is the Premier League where the hammers are 13th and already falling behind the pack chasing European football. West Ham manager David Moyes will be hoping now that their attention can fully turn back to improving their domestic position.
Defensive Woes continue
Despite a night that was the cause for much celebration, there were several injury concerns. Angelo Ogbonnna was forced off halfway through the first half with an injury and before the game was done his replacement Craig Dawson as well as Flynn Downes where both forced to come off.
With Kurt Zouma their only fit natural center back Moyes will have to tinker with a defence that has so far been a solid base for West Ham this season. With games against Southampton and Bournemouth in their next three fixtures, building on this result could be crucial in helping West Ham back up the table.
Record Breaker Bowen
If the defensive conundrums were causing Moyes headaches, then he can rest easy knowing his attackers are offering nothing but solutions. Jarrod Bowen became the joint top European goal scorer in Hammers history. His sixth goal in Europe for the club was a fierce strike that gave the Anderlecht goalkeeper stranded.
It was however a sensational free kick from Said Benrahma that was the showstopper in a dangerous looking West Ham attack that managed 15 attempts over the course of the game. The Algerian managed just his second full 90 minutes of the season in this game and did more than enough to warrant further inclusion. With 5 goals in their last two matches and a number of inform attacking options to choose from.
Good and bad from the loanee Anderlecht attack
While the result leaves Anderlecht needing two wins from their remaining two games to qualify for the second stage of the tournament it was a good opportunity for the young attacking strike force of the Belgian side to show what they were made of.
Both Fabio Silva (on loan from Wolves) and Sebastiano Esposito (on loan from Inter Milan) started up front for Anderlecht with the young Italian clearly outshining his Portuguese counterpart. The Inter loanee looked dangerous throughout the game and almost got his side back into the game just before halftime but he was denied by Areola.
However, after being given the responsibility of the penalty he calmly stood up and gave his side and himself something to show for their efforts.