Soccer

European round-up: West Ham knocked out as Cresswell and Moyes sees red

Leicester beaten by Roma in Conference League, who will play Feyenoord in final

Referee Jesus Gil Manzano shows the red card to Aaron Cresswell of West Ham. Photograph: Friedemann Vogel/AFP

Thu May 5 2022 - 22:25

Eintracht Frankfurt 1 West Ham 0 (3-1 aggregate)

Eintracht Frankfurt beat 10-man West Ham United 1-0 in their Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday to reach their first European final in 42 years with a 3-1 aggregate victory.

In front of a deafening 48,000 crowd, Rafael Borre drilled in the winner for the hosts in the 26th minute, beating the English club for a second time following a 2-1 triumph in the first leg last week.

West Ham, who played most of the game with 10 men after left back Aaron Cresswell was dismissed for a professional foul on Jens Petter Hauge in the 17th minute, were toothless throughout.

READ MORE

Their manager David Moyes was also sent off in the 79th minute for angrily kicking a ball in a frustrating and scrappy end to West Ham’s European run this season.

The Germans, who last reached a European final in 1980, will face Rangers on May 18 after the Scottish side knocked out RB Leipzig.

Roma 1 Leicester 0 (2-1 aggregate)

Tammy Abraham’s first-half header earned Italian Serie A side AS Roma a place in the final of the inaugural Europa Conference League, where they will meet Dutch club Feyenoord following two tight semi-finals on Thursday.

Roma edged Leicester City 1-0 to win their tie 2-1 on aggregate, while Feyenoord held home side Olympique Marseille to a scrappy 0-0 draw on the French south coast and advanced 3-2.

The final will be played in Tirana, Albania on May 25th, where the winners will automatically qualify for the 2022/23 Europa League group stage, unless they reach the Champions League pool stages next season.

There was little to choose between the sides at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where the decisive goal came on 11 minutes as Leicester’s frailties at set-pieces this season were exposed again.

Lorenzo Pellegrini’s corner was met by the head of England international Abraham, who guided the ball into the net.

It took Leicester 78 minutes to have a first shot on target as they battled to create clear-cut chances against the well organised home side, who reach their first European final since losing to compatriots Inter Milan in the 1991 Uefa Cup.

Olympique Marseille 0 Feyenoord 0

The second leg of the semi-final between Marseille and Feyenoord was marred by fan violence in the build-up as supporters from both sides clashed with each other and police, while a brick was thrown at the visitor’s team bus.

The first leg had been a five-goal thriller, but this was more of a cagey affair with the best chance of the first half falling to Marseille’s Dimitri Payet, who sliced a shot wide when he should have scored.

Marseille pressed for the goal they needed to equalise on aggregate, but Feyenoord held on to reach their first European final since they lifted the UEFA Cup for the second time in 2002.

LATEST STORIES