West Ham United welcomed Eintracht Frankfurt at the London Stadium earlier tonight as they looked to earn a win in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semi-final tie. The Hammers made a poor start to the contest as they conceded the opening goal in the first minute when Ansgar Knauff scored with a good header. However, the Hammers managed to equalise in the 21st minute courtesy of Michail Antonio’s goal from close range. Both sides went into the half-time interval with a 1-1 scoreline.
The visitors regained their lead in the 54th minute as Daichi Kamada scored with a left-footed finish. The East London outfit failed to come up with a response and ended up losing the contest by a 2-1 scoreline.
Let’s take a look at how each West Ham player fared during the clash against Frankfurt.
GK: Alphonse Areola – 6.5/10
Areola made a couple of solid saves during the game and was tidy with his passing. However, he won’t be pleased after allowing two goals tonight.
RB: Ben Johnson – 6.5/10
He tried to keep things tidy at the back and made one key chance in the opponent’s half.
CB: Craig Dawson – 6/10
The English centre-back made a couple of clearances but failed to keep the Frankfurt attackers quiet.
CB: Kurt Zouma – 6.5/10
The French defensive ace made some essential defensive contributions but will be disappointed after failing to keep a clean sheet in both halves. However, he bagged an assist for setting up Antonio’s goal.
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LB: Aaron Cresswell – 6.5/10
He had some bright moments in the game and managed to create one good chance in the final third.
CM: Tomas Soucek – 7/10
Soucek earned the ball back a few times and had a few strikes at goal. However, he failed to get his name on the scoresheet.
CM: Declan Rice – 7/10
Rice anchored the midfield with a lot of conviction and orchestrated a couple of promising opportunities for his teammates to score.
RW: Jarrod Bowen – 6.5/10
The English speedster was a real threat in the attacking end of the pitch and was unfortunate to hit the post with his goal-bound attempt.
CAM: Manuel Lanzini – 6/10
The Argentine attacker had a quiet game in the Frankfurt half and only managed to engineer one good chance up top.
LW: Pablo Fornals – 6.5/10
Fornals made two good opportunities in the final third but failed to register a goal.
ST: Michail Antonio – 7/10
Antonio scored the all-important equaliser for West Ham in the 21st minute. However, he was mostly ineffective in the second half.
Substitutes:
CAM: Said Benrahma – 7/10
Benrahma caused a lot of problems for the German outfit and was unlucky to hit the post in the second half.
