David Moyes’s verdict
“Really disappointed. Things didn’t go for us on the night, small things, but I’m really proud of the players. How they played with ten men was fantastic. The boys here are great; they’re tough boys. [Any complaints about the red card?] Err, lots of complaints tonight.
“Look, we congratulate Frankfurt – they go through and we give them our best wishes.
“Yeah, I kicked a ball back at a ball boy, so I apologise for that. He threw it very softly at me…
“[How proud will you be when you reflect on this season?] I don’t feel any of that at the moment, I just feel disappointment. This was a chance. I think we played better teams than Frankfurt. But if we’re being honest, we probably lost the tie in the first 30 seconds at the London Stadium. We conceded a goal and we’ve been chasing the game ever since.
“We’ll do everything we can to finish strongly in the league. We’ve enjoyed being in the competition. Don’t know if we’ve enjoyed the officiating but we’ve enjoyed being in the competition. Hopefully we’ll do it more often.”
Anyway, that’s it for tonight’s blog. It’s been a glorious night for Eintracht Frankfurt and a sad one for West Ham. Declan Rice summed it up pretty well - they may not have reached the final but their Europa League campaign has been a triumph, and it will be the subject of a cracking documentary in 2042. Thanks for your company and emails - goodnight.
There are suggestions that David Moyes belted the ball at a ball girl before being sent off. It’s impossible to tell from the footage we’ve seen, but we are going to hear more about it.
Declan Rice’s post-match interview
“Gutted. We’re gutted in there. We’ve given everything this year. We’re not the biggest squads, and to keep playing week-in, week-out - over 50 games this season... proud as well, you know. To go down to ten men and put in that shift. Many teams would lose 3-0 or 4-0. The way we tried to defend and still get forward with a man less emphasises everything that West Ham is about. We fight to the end.
“A sending-off is always gonna make it a mountain to climb. We had genuine belief that over two legs they weren’t gonna beat us. Of course they’re a good side, but there’s no way they’re better than Seville or Lyon [who West Ham beat in the earlier rounds]. Maybe we played a team who have a similar style to us and it caught us out in the end. But look, we’ve come so far. Nobody expected West Ham to be here and I’m so proud of everyone. Even though we lost, the boys went out on a high.
“It was a bit of annoying goal to concede so soon after the sending-off because we could have still been in the game. The sending-off was probably right but some of the other decisions were poor tonight. The ref seemed to give everything to them. When you’ve got someone who’s against you, you can’t do much.
“We came off with our heads held high. Nobody expected us to get past Seville, nobody expected us to get past Lyon. It’s gutting. [Cheering starts in the background] They’re celebrating, I have to listen to that. It’s not nice but we’re strong enough to take it. I’m young but I want more, the lads want more and this club deserves more. I’m sure we’ll be back.”
Jacob Steinberg’s match report
It’s over, you don’t need to tell me...
Our Europa League campaign comes to an end in the semi-finals in Frankfurt. #UEL | #SGEWHU pic.twitter.com/gcPAXQrQSB
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 5, 2022
Here’s David Moyes’ red card
Another red card for West Ham...
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2022
This time it's for David Moyes! 😳
The manager smashes the ball back in anger and is sent down the tunnel... #UEL pic.twitter.com/YYTZrqp2dg
I won’t tell you who won the other semi-final, in case any of you plan to watch it on delay, but you can find out the result with Scott Murray.
Thousands of Frankfurt fans have charged onto the field to celebrate. It’s mostly good natured, though a fair few went straight over to the West Ham end. The police seem to have forced them back to the other half of the field.
Updated
Full time: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 West Ham (agg: 3-1)
Eintracht Frankfurt are through to the Europa League final! It’s their first European final in 42 years, and they are deserving winners across the two legs. Rafael Borre’s first-half goal, made by the outstanding Ansgar Knauff, gave them a cushion against a West Ham side already down to 10 men.
It’s a sad night for West Ham, who had Aaron Cresswell and David Moyes sent off. They gave everything, and will forever wonder what might have happened had they not been reduced to 10 men so early in the game.
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90+5 min Yarmolenko has a cross shot beaten away by Trapp. West Ham’s spirit is so impressive; they are playing like it’s 3-2 on aggregate rather than 3-1.
90+3 min Five minutes of added time by the way. Bowen’s curler from the right edge of the area is comfortably saved by Trapp.
90+2 min Eintracht break four on three. Jakic decides to go it alone and shoots wide from 20 yards.
90+1 min Trapp is booked, possibly for opening his surname.
90 min: So close from Soucek! Trapp drops a free-kick and then almost fouls Soucek. Instead West Ham get another corner. Bowen swings it into the six-yard box and Soucek heads just wide! That was West Ham’s best chance of the night.
88 min: Trapp saves from Antonio! West Ham almost set up a grandstand finish. Rice sprayed a great crossfield pass to Antonio, who took it beautifully on the chest and lashed a shot back across goal. It was a bit too close to Trapp, who saved comfortably in the end.
88 min Kostic wins a corner for Frankfurt, whose fans are in the throes of noisy ecstasy.
88 min “Rob,” writes Tomis in Frankfurt. “I’m curious to hear why you refer to Eintracht exclusively as Frankfurt, while you call the London club West Ham all the time. The former’s club name is Eintracht. (FSV) Frankfurt is a club that plays in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Süd.”
It’s nothing other than ignorance on my part, so apologies for that. I’ll try to remember for the final (if selected).
87 min Andriy Yarmolenko comes on for Coufal.
86 min Toure thrashes over from 20 yards. Actually, Areola got a touch, though I think it was going over anyway.
84 min It seems David Moyes kicked the ball at a ballboy, not one of the Eintracht Frankfurt staff. Oh dear. I’m sure we’ll hear more about that.
83 min The substitute Paciencia, who has just come on, hooks an acrobatic volley not far wide from an excellent cross by Kostic.
82 min Two changes for Frankfurt. Goncalo Paciencia and Ajdin Hrusstic replace Jens Petter Hauge and Rafael Borre.
Updated
81 min: It’s kicking off again! Frankfurt are unhappy because they think West Ham played on when they should have given the ball back. That led to a bit of pushing, after which Benrahma and Knauff were booked. The keeper Trapp also went looking for Antonio, an interesting bit of decision-making on his part.
Updated
80 min Rice’s long-range shot bounces awkwardly in front of Trapp, who grabs it at the second attempt.
David Moyes sent off!
79 min Ah, this is what happened. Moyes walked across, asking for the ball back when it went out for a throw-in. He didn’t like the way it was dropped at his feet, so he hoofed it straight at one of the Frankfurt coaching staff! That led to the melee, and he was sent off by the referee
Updated
78 min It’s kicking off between the two benches. I’m not sure what happened but Kevin Nolan and one of the Frankfurt staff have been yellow-carded.
77 min Somebody has been booked, possibly Antonio, for some pre-corner wrestling.
76 min Frankfurt bring on Kristijan Jakic for the captain Sebastian Rode.
76 min A free-kick is only partially cleared by Frankfurt, and Benrahma hooks a shot that deflects behind for a corner. He appeals for handball; nobody else is interested.
75 min West Ham’s attitude has been faultless. and in the circumstances their second-half performance has been thoroughly admirable. They don’t realise they’re beaten.
74 min: West Ham substitution It’s time for Said Benrahma. He replaces Pablo Fornals.
72 min Antonio roasts Ndicka on the right and drives a terrific low cross that is pushed away by the diving Trapp. It could have fallen to Soucek or Bowen; instead it ran past them and was cleared.
Updated
69 min Kostic’s cross is headed away by Zouma to the edge of the area. Kamada collects the ball, shifts it onto his left foot and drags a shot wide of the far post.
67 min BENRAHMA, DAVID.
66 min Rode is booked for a lunge at Bowen. This is a good spell for West Ham, probably their most threatening of the match.
65 min Bowen lobs a nice pass to leave Antonio one v one with Ndicka, who cleans us with the minimum of fuss. The booking aside, he has played Antonio really well.
Updated
64 min A deep, angled free-kick from the left is pulled down well on the chest by Dawson, but then he overhits his cross. That was a bit of a chance for West Ham.
60 min Antonio turns well on the left and hammers a deep cross to Dawson, whose downward header is saved comfortably to his left by Trapp. But it was more good play from West Ham, who haven’t given this up.
58 min At the other end, Kostic shoots over from distance.
57 min A good move from West Ham. Fornals finds Bowen, whose angled low cross is kicked away by Toure in the six-yard box. Antonio was waiting behind him to score.
Updated
56 min Sow shoots from 30 yards, and instantly regrets it.
55 min Knauff, the most exciting player on the field, slaloms dangerously infield from the right and is eventually blocked off by Johnson in the area.
53 min Nothing much is happening. West Ham are holding their own but they have really struggled to create anything in open play. Said Benrahma needs to come on, in my spasmodically humble opinion.
49 min Hauge forces a pass into Borre, 22 yards from goal. He spins the ball up in the air and cracks a left-footed volley that is comfortably saved to his left by Areola. Borre is so good at finding pockets of space between Dawson/Zouma and Soucek/Rice.
48 min The Frankfurt supporters are making an incredible noise. If all goes to plan for them, this second half will be one long party.
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46 min Peep peep! West Ham begin the second half, with no changes on either side.
Updated
Cresswell is being slaughtered on Twitter, as you’d expect in such an empathy void. The poor bloke must be in bits. His season, perhaps his whole career, will be remembered for two extremely costly split-second misjudgements.
There’s plenty going on in the other semi-final at Ibrox. I won’t tell you the score, just in case, but you can follow the game with Scott Murray.
Half time: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 West Ham (agg: 3-1)
Eintracht Frankfurt are within touching distance of their first European final in 42 years. West Ham started confidently but Aaron Cresswell’s red card in the 19th minute changed everything. Rafael Borre’s excellent goal doubled Frankfurt’s aggregate lead, and a punchdrunk West Ham’s only chance came when Evan Ndicka cleared off the line from Kurt Zouma.
It’s almost impossible to see a way back from here, though I suppose we said the same thing 24 hours ago.
45+3 min A very frustrated Declan Rice is booked for dissent.
Updated
45+2 min “Frankfurt seem really focused,” says Niall Mullen, “like they have an Eintracht mind.”
That’s either ingenious or abysmal, and I’m genuinely torn. Let’s put it to the Twitterati... (let’s not).
45+1 min Rode shoots a few yards wide from distance. Areola had it covered.
45 min Four minutes of added time.
45 min It was Ndicka who cleared off the line from Zouma. That would have been such a boost for West Ham.
44 min: Off the line by Frankfurt! Bowen’s free-kick flashed across the six-yard box, hit the unsighted Zouma and was cleared off the line by a Frankfurt defender! And no I don’t know who it was!
Updated
43 min Ndicka is booked for a poor tackle on Antonio, who made a good run down the right.
42 min I wonder if David Moyes might be tempted to bring on Said Benrahma as early as half time. They need something different, a bit of unpredictability. It would be a risk to lose Fornals’ defensive ability but there’s no point going out with a whimper.
39 min Nothing much is happening, just lots of Frankfurt possession. This must be immensely frustrating for the West Ham players, who can’t get a foothold in the game.
37 min The outstanding Knauff feeds the ball down the line to Hauge, who returns it with a lovely backheel. Knauff vrooms into the area and is well challenged by Johnson.
Updated
36 min West Ham were playing well at 0-0, albeit without creating any chances, but the double whammy of Cresswell’s red card and Borre’s goal have made this a nigh-on impossible task.
34 min The right wing-back Ansgar Knauff, a 20-year-old on loan from Dortmund, looks a helluva player. He’s dynamic, skilful and relentless but also extremely clever in his movement.
Updated
33 min “If Cresswell has been sent off in consecutive Europa League ties, why was he eligible to play in this match,” says David Hancock. “Am I missing something?”
It’s consecutive ties rather than consecutive games. He was sent off in the first leg against Lyon, missed the second leg through suspension and then returned for this tie.
Updated
33 min West Ham are hanging on a bit. They simply cannot concede another goal before half-time.
30 min Ndicka makes an excellent last-man challenge on Antonio, who was charging onto a return ball from Fornals. I think Fornals’ pass was slightly overhit.
28 min Here’s Cresswell’s red card. There’s an argument that it wasn’t actually a foul, but he took far too big a risk by putting hands on Hauge, especially as he was the last man.
A terrible start for West Ham as they are reduced to 10 men...
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2022
After a VAR check, Aaron Cresswell's yellow card for bringing down Jens Petter Hauge was upgraded to a red 🟥#UEL pic.twitter.com/ZHaPo6zjHC
Frankfurt are surely heading for Seville. Two of the stars of the first leg combined for an excellent goal. Ansgar Knauff curved his run away from Zouma, towards the byline, and then picked out Borre with a sharp cutback. Borre’s first-time finish was immaculate, slammed across Areola from 10 yards.
Updated
GOAL! Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 West Ham (agg: 3-1; Borre 26)
Uh-oh.
Updated
25 min West Ham are still having more of the ball, despite being down to 10 men. There is still a feasible way for them to get through - 1-0, penalties, lovely jubbly - but it will take a Homeric effort.
23 min Fornals’ inswinger is headed away.
22 min Bowen’s superb deep corner is headed behind his own goal by Toure, under a lot of pressure from Dawson. Another corner to West Ham...
Updated
22 min: West Ham substitution The inevitable reshuffle is bad news for Manuel Lanzini - he is replaced by Ben Johnson, who goes to left-back in a 4-2-2-1 formation.
20 min Kostic drills the resulting free-kick just wide! Areola may have had it covered. May.
Updated
20 min David Moyes is fuming. It was a softish foul, and Hauge made the most of it, but I do think it was a foul. And once the referee gave a free-kick, Cresswell was in big trouble.
CRESSWELL IS SENT OFF!
19 min That’s a devastating blow for West Ham. For the second consecutive Europa League tie, Cresswell is sent off.
Updated
The referee is going to the monitor! I think Cresswell is going off here. He got in a bit of a tangle with a long ball forward and had a wrestling match with Hauge, who would have been through on goal. As soon as the ball bounced, Cresswell was struggling.
Updated
17 min Cresswell is booked, and it might have been worse! He was penalised for a last-man foul on Hauge just outside the area, and the Frankfurt bench are all complaining that he should have been sent off. This could be upgraded by VAR.
Updated
14 min It’s turning into a bit of an arm-wrestle. Or maybe it is a game of pass the parcel, with both teams encouraging the other to attack so they can sting them on the break. Either way, we’ve had no chances at either end.
12 min “I hope the travelling West Ham fans enjoy the game because they won’t have enjoyed the zero tolerance attitude (to fun) of the massed ranks of Frankfurt police,” says Ian Copestake. “The city centre has been shut down!”
Have you been out campaigning again?
Updated
10 min Sow wins the first corner for Frankfurt. Hauge plays it short and then overhits a cross.
9 min “This is also European football: I am on a train from from Berlin to Basel,” says Donald Phillips. “The train was delayed by some 40 minutes because of fans on the line outside Frankfurt’s stadium, whatever Godawful sponsor name it has these days… As a result a Kurdish refugee family trying to make the connection to Paris in Mannheim are well and truly effed.”
I don’t think there’s much I can add to that.
8 min: Frankfurt substitution Hinteregger is down again. You can’t run off a hamstring injury; Diego Costa tried that one in the 2014 Champions League final. He limps off, not a million miles from tears, to be replaced by Almamy Toure.
Updated
7 min It’s been a decent, aggressive start from West Ham. I thought they must start cautiously but that hasn’t been the case at all.
6 min Actually, Hinteregger is going to try to continue. I don’t fancy his chances, but you have to admire his courage.
4 min An early problem for Frankfurt: their influential Austrian defender Martin Hinteregger has pulled a hamstring. He won’t be able to continue.
3 min West Ham win an early corner after some good interplay on the left. Cresswell swings it towards the penalty spot, Soucek heads it down and eventually Frankfurt clear. I think Dawson had a shot blocked, though it wasn’t especially menacing.
1 min Peep peep! Amid the most spectacular atmosphere in Frankfurt, Daichi Kamada gets the second leg under way.
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“First game I was allowed to stay up for was the 1976 Cup Winners’ Cup final,” says Ian Sargeant. “I was six. Only allowed to watch the first half - so disappointed in the morning (apparently). To think we’ve only been in one final anywhere since 1981 - playoffs and Intertoto don’t count. Can’t wait for this. Do us proud again fellas.”
We’ll do our bes- oh I see what you mean.
Updated
We’re having a few technical problems, which is really tremendous. Hopefully they’ll be sorted in time for the kick off. In three minutes time.
Updated
“It’s really good to see how Declan Rice has progressed this year but interesting also as he was arguably outshone in England’s central midfield by Kalvin Phillips in the summer,” says David Wall. “I wonder if Phillips has got similar potential to kick on to the extent that Rice has. It certainly suggests that Leeds would be nowhere near the trouble they’re in if he’d been fit more this season.”
Phillips is three years older so I doubt he has quite the same scope for improvement. He’s already a superb player though, unique in English football. I know all teams get injuries but Leeds have been desperately unlucky. If Phillips and Patrick Bamford had played 75 per cent of the games, never mind Liam Cooper, I think they’d be fine.
German football fans are the best, part 7,971,208
Frankfurt fans have the ground bouncing! 🤩#UEL pic.twitter.com/KR1XwnfOoO
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2022
It’s good to see Owen Hargreaves as the German football expert on BT Sport’s coverage. I think he’s a terrific pundit - economical, understated, insightful and generous of spirit, which is quite a rare combination. And what a marvellous footballer he was too, who would achieved so much more had tendinitis not effectively ended his career at the age of 27.
“I sincerely wish Rob Lewis (7.20pm) all the best,” says Peter Oh, “but I fear that Knauff, Kostic, Kamada and kompany, company rather, kould, er could well kause, I mean cause some kebab and kunefe indigestion.”
I think I’ve just got indigestion just from reading that sentence.
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This is a nice feature on a really smart, underrated player
🎶 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘏𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2022
𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰 🎶
Pablo Fornals is quickly becoming a cult hero at West Ham, he loves this club ⚒️#UEL pic.twitter.com/dw4QpXlQkB
Tonight’s winners will play Rangers or RB Leipzig in the final. Scott Murray is following that game.
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“Dear Rob,” writes Rob Lewis. “(From the biblical Antioch on the Turkish border with Syria). May the best team win? No, Rob that really will not do. May my Irons win, with brass knobs on. I have just taken our party out to eat kebab and kunefe tonight, on the off chance that my generosity might spur the powers that be and reside in the sky above to look kindly on us tonight.
“I’ve also sold my soul and promised myself we can lose to Tottenham for the next three seasons and I won’t say a dicky bird about it, as long as we get the desired result tonight. May the claret and blue team win. COYI.”
I’m sensing just a soupçon of tension.
Updated
Jacob Steinberg’s preview
Team news
Eintracht Frankfurt make two changes from the first leg. The excellent French defender Evan Ndicka returns from suspension in place of Almamy Toure, and Jens Petter Hauge replaces the injured Jesper Lindstrom.
Vladimir Coufal replaces Ben Johnson at right-back for West Ham, the only change from last week’s game at the London Stadium.
Eintracht Frankfurt (3-4-2-1) Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, Ndicka; Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostic; Hauge, Kamada; Borre.
Substitutes: Grahl, Jakic, Hrustic, Lammers, Toure, Hasebe, Ache, Chandler, Da Costa, Lenz, Barkok, Paciencia.
West Ham (4-2-3-1) Areola; Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio.
Substitutes: Fabianski, Randolph, Yarmolenko, Vlasic, Noble, Benrahma, Diop, Fredericks, Masuaku, Johnson, Kral, Alese.
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano (Spain).
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Europa League semi-final between Eintracht Frankfurt and West Ham at the evocatively named Deutsche Bank Park. This is it, then. For Frankfurt and West Ham, only two emotional extremes are available tonight: unimaginable euphoria or unbearable distress.
One group of players will be in Seville on 18 May for the final; the other lot will be at home, each sporting a face like a walloped posterior. Frankfurt are odds-on favourites after their slightly confusing 2-1 win at the London Stadium last week, but West Ham’s task feels more stiff than impossible.
There two reasons for that: away trips aren’t quite as mysterious or intimidating as they once were, and the abolition of the away goals rule means West Ham may only have to score one goal to take the game to extra-time. Last season they would have needed at least two. George Graham’s Anfield ’89 approach - get to half-time at 0-0 and see where the chips fall thereafter - might be homaged by David Moyes tonight. Or West Ham could just blow the bloody doors off in the first half like they did in Lyon in the quarter-finals.
Both teams are very comfortable on the counter-attack, so don’t be surprised if they play pass the parcel with the territorial advantage. Frankfurt have won only five out of 21 home games this season. They don’t need to win tonight, a draw is fine, but that record should give West Ham hope. Not as much hope as a 2-1 lead will give Frankfurt, mind you.
No two ways, this is a huge night for both clubs, the chance to secure a once-in-three-generations opportunity by reaching a European final. Frankfurt last did so in 1980, West Ham in 1976, an- LOOK, YOU PEDANTIC PIECE OF WASTED SPACE, I’VE TOLD YOU BEFORE, THE 1999 INTERTOTO CUP DOESN’T COUNT.
RB Leipzig or Rangers await in the final. May the best team win.
Kick off 8pm BST, 9pm in Frankfurt.
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