[PT2021] West Ham Win ECL Group Stage Match Against AEK Larnaca

[Manoj Sahoo]

The Hammers have won their group to reach the last 16 of the Europa
Conference League and now face AEK Larnaca for a second leg chance for
Moyes to continue his quest for European glory. Unfortunately, their
domestic form has been dismal and should they lose again on Wednesday
evening, it could mean entering into relegation battle mode.

The manager has welcomed this competition, noting: "It provides us with a
distraction from our Premier League issues and gives us something to look
forward to. We can't wait for our next game at the London Stadium and
hopefully come out on top."

On Saturday, Antonio was the star player, scoring West Ham's first goal
since October and setting up Michail Benrahma for another. Afterwards,
Antonio doubled their advantage with his first brace in 19 months after
receiving an exquisite pass from Declan Rice. Clive Allen who watched on BT
Sport described it as "sensational" and described the goal as "absolutely
beautiful".

Info:koora4live https://kooora4lives.io/

Moyes has been looking to develop his midfield and has recently brought in
Maxwel Cornet, Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek for some key games. All three
players have made an impact; Cornet's excellent through ball enabled Lucas
Paqueta to reach Antonio for the opening goal.

West Ham have often been vulnerable to attacks from the center when
defending deep. Their wider midfielders were often in narrow positions and
this left them more often losing the ball than usual. With their new system
of 5-2-3, however, West Ham were able to press forward more effectively and
have a higher defensive line which enabled them to make gains in midfield.

This shift was most evident when they countered from a 4-2-3-1 formation,
as players that had typically been in the wide positions moved infield and
became more active during transitions. This enabled Cresswell to move away
from his left-sided central defender, giving them another wide option who
could better feed their attack when in possession.

West Ham often played from a 3-4-3 formation, similar to Everton. Their
width-forwards and wing-backs often advanced from central defence, allowing
them to play more direct passes into the box and get more crosses into it.
Furthermore, their full-backs were more active during periods of possession
which allowed them to apply extra pressure when the ball was lost.

At Everton, Moyes developed his team's speed and directness when countering
from deeper defensive blocks; however, West Ham have yet to demonstrate
this level of organisation within their units and remain vulnerable in
central areas when defending deep. If they want to compete against stronger
sides at the London Stadium, this must be addressed.

Source:  https://kooora4lives.io/كورة 4 لايف
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