The English team beat AZ Alkmaar 2-1 with goals from Benrahma, from a penalty, and Antonio
The Dutch had advanced at the edge of the break with a goal from Reijnders
West Ham United came from behind a goal from AZ Alkmaar, with goals from Said Benrahma from the penalty spot and Michail Antonioand is aiming for the Conference League final, a goal that will have to be confirmed next Thursday in the Netherlands.
DATA SHEET
Conference League
WHA
A-Z
LINEUPS
West Ham
Areola; Kehrer, Aguerd, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Paquetá, Benrahma (Fornals, 90′); Antonio (English, 79′).
AZ Alkmaar
Ryan; Sugawara, Beukema, Hatzidiakos, De Wit; Classes, Reijnders, Mijnans; Van Brederode (Mihailovic, 79′), Pavlidis, Odgaard (Lahdo, 68′).
goals
0-1 M. 42 Reijnders. 1-1 M. 67 Benrahma, penalty. 2-1 M. 76 Anthony.
Referee
Umut Meler (Türkiye). TA: Paquetá (58′) / De Wit (16′), Clasie (58′) and Ryan (65′).
incidents
London Olympic. 43,000 viewers.
The English, who they found themselves behind on the scoreboard after a mid-range shot from Tijani Reijnders in which Alphonse Areola could do much more, they turned the game around in the last 25 minutes.
An error by Matt Ryan, who hit Jarred Bowen in the face with his fists and committed a penalty, along with Antonio who was in the right place to push a dead ball, finished off the job for David Moyes’ men, who after practically ensuring their stay in the Premier League for another year, now have the opportunity to play the third European final in their history, after the UEFA Cup in 1965 and 1976.
And that for many minutes it seemed that AZ could surprise at the London Olympics, thanks to a good defensive performance and a successful moment, when reijnderson the verge of half-time, was encouraged by a long shot that bounced into Areola’s face, who could have prevented the goal. The ‘Hammers’ demanded a push from Lucas Paquetá at the start of the playbut the referee ignored it and the Dutch went into defensive mode.
They held the rent until the final stretch of the game, when a horrible departure from Ryan led to the comeback of the English. The Australian goalkeeper smashed his fists into Bowen’s face with an aerial ball, leaving the Turkish referee no choice but to award a penalty..
Although Ryan shrugged and did not understand the decision, the maximum penalty was more than clear. AND Benrahmawho already scored at the weekend against Manchester United, took a perfect penalty to make it 1-1.
With more calm on the scoreboard, West Ham did not take long to find the second goal, in a play with less controversy. Declan Rice, after a corner, put a cross to the near post, Aguerd finished off as well as he could and an AZ defender took the ball on the goal line. While the West Ham players called for a penalty, Antonio caught the ball and sent it into the net. The Jamaican’s seventh goal in this Conference League, one behind Arthur Cabral, the competition’s top scorer.
With the 2-1 in their pocket, West Ham will travel to the Netherlands to close the tie at the AFAS Stadionwhere AZ has only lost two games in 2023. Despite the terrible season in the Premier, in which a team made to fight for the upper-middle part of the table was saved at the last minute, a European final would make up Londoners course.