West Ham beat Eintracht Frankfurt

West Ham United failed to maximize the home party in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals. The Hammers lost 1-2 to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Not even a minute before the match at the London Olympic stadium, Friday (29/4/2022) in the early hours of WIB, West Ham had fallen behind. Beginning with Rafael Santos Borre who pushed from the left side after kickoff, the ball was sent to the penalty box.

Ansgar Knauff preceded Pablo Fornals to head the ball which was unable to be driven by Alphonse Areola. West Ham who conceded first were immediately stung and tried to equalize the score as soon as possible.

However, Frankfurt’s layered defense made it difficult for West Ham to create opportunities. The best chance was in the 14th minute when Jarrod Bowen got a through ball and just faced goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, his shot hitting the post.

West Ham finally could equalize the score in the 21st minute through Michail Antonio. Manuel Lanzini crosses which Kurt Zouma heads and the ball goes in front of goal.

There was Michail Antonio who scored him to score. A draw score makes the match run hotter because both teams both want to score additional goals.

After a 1-1 draw in the first half, Frankfurt took the lead again in the 54th minute. Frankfurt did a slick collaboration in front of the West Ham penalty box.

The 1-2 bait was made by Djibril Sow and Jesper Lindstrom before it was completed with a kick that was pushed aside by Areola. The ball rebounded easily by Daichi Kamada in front of an empty goal.

West Ham are trying to catch up in the remainder of the game to at least lighten the load in next week’s semi-final second leg. However, several opportunities always failed, including Jarrod Bowen in injury time.

Jarrod Bowen’s chance to hit the bar Photo: Action Images via Reuters/MATTHEW CHILDS

Bowen met his partner’s cross with an acrobatic shot in front of goal, but the ball still hit the bar. The 2-1 score for Eintracht Frankfurt’s advantage lasted and became their capital when they hosted West Ham United at the Commerzbank Arena, Friday (6/5/2022) early morning WIB.

Meanwhile, in the other semifinal match at the Leipzig Arena, hosts RB Leipzig won a dramatic 1-0 win over Rangers FC through Angelino’s volley in the 85th minute.

(mrp/ran)