West Ham won in Croatia on Thursday, making their first appearance in Europe (excluding qualifiers) since 2006-07 one to remember. By defying our prediction of a draw in Europa League football news, West Ham win 2-0 away against Dinamo Zagreb.
West Ham defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in their Europa League opener on Thursday. And this was thanks to Michail Antonio and Declan Rice, who scored in either half, first and second halves, respectively.
Antonio scored the first goal, capitalizing on Dinamo Zagreb player Kevin Theophile-Catherine’s poor pass to finish into an empty net. And then, early in the second half, five minutes after the break, Rice doubled the lead for West Ham.
Luka Ivanusec almost beat Lukasz Fabianksi, who did not have to make another save across the entire game.
That was because Ivanusec’s effort turned out to be Dinamo’s only chance at scoring.
As a result, West Ham have now won their first European match since 1999 and they are topping Group H.
Europa League Football News – West Ham Win 2-0 Away
Within the first 15 minutes, the visitors had nearly 70% possession. However, aside from a flurry of corners, Aaron Cresswell’s erroneous long-range effort was their only half-chance.
Michail Antonio, on the other hand, made West Ham’s dominance pay when he took advantage of Theophile-Catherine’s lapse in concentration.
Antonio rounded Dominik Livakovic and slotted into the net, effectively scoring the Hammers’ first European goal since 1999.
Dinamo then attempted to respond immediately, as soon as they came back in the second half. Bruno Petkovic blasted in an effort to score, but the ball rolled narrowly wide.
Eventually, however, West Ham’s Declan Rice was the one who added a second goal to this match.
He drove forward before powering a left-footed strike through Livakovic’s legs.
Watch these key moments, and more, in this video containing match highlights.
Dinamo Zagreb 0 – 2 West Ham
Goals: 0 – 1 Antonio 22, 0 – 2 Rice 50
Bookings: Misic; Lanzini
Dinamo Zagreb: Livakovic, Theophile-Catherine, Lauritsen, Sutalo, Franjic, Misic, Ademi, Ristovski, Ivanusec, Orsic, Petkovic
Substitutions: Gojak, Tolic, Menalo, Moharrami, Juric
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Zouma, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Vlasic, Lanzini, Fornals, Antonio
Substitutions: Yarmolenko, Masuaku, Benrahma, Noble, Bowen
