The Hammers recorded consecutive wins in their 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League campaign, their second success a narrow 3-2 win over Danish side Silkeborg.
David Moyes’s men fell behind to a fifth-minute goal by Kasper Kusk, the winger smacking his shot past Alphonse Areola at the first time of asking. But, their lead lasted just eight minutes as Manuel Lanzini brought the English side level with a goal from the spot after Maxwel Cornet had been shoved inside the box.
Cornet was instrumental in the Hammers’ second goal, too, intercepting a loose pass and playing the ball to Gianluca Scamacca, who slammed it into the roof of the net from outside the box with a superb hit. Craig Dawson put his team 3-1 ahead in the 38th minute, flicking a corner past the goalkeeper from close range.
With this victory, West Ham lead the group by two points, with Belgian giants Anderlecht in second following their draw with FCSB.
Elsewhere, Villarreal continued their march towards the knockouts with a narrow win over Hapoel Beer-Sheva. The Yellow Submarine took the lead in the 28th minute through Jose Luis Morales, who scored from the spot after Alex Baena was tripped inside the box by the opposition goalkeeper.
The home team equalized three minutes past the hour through Rotem Hatuel, the winger slamming the ball in at the near post after a well-worked move down the left-hand side. Nonetheless, parity lasted just four minutes as Baena finished off a Yeremy Pino cross from the right acrobatically, restoring Villarreal’s narrow advantage, one that they would hold onto until the end.
In other results, AFC Fiorentina received a 3-0 thrashing by Istanbul Basaksehir, while FC Koln recorded their first win of the European campaign, 4-2 over Slovacko. However, OGC Nice were left disappointed with a second successive draw – 1-1 versus Partizan Belgrade.
