As Mark Noble prepared to enter the pitch with 14 minutes left he could have been forgiven if his mind had drifted back to the bad old days. Noble knows better than anyone that West Ham were a shambles not so long ago, until David Moyes arrived to instil stability and togetherness, and it is doubtful that the veteran midfielder ever imagined his final season as a professional would involve his boyhood club embarking on an adventure that could end with them cavorting around with the Europa League trophy in Seville next month.
Yet this is what West Ham have become under Moyes. This is why their disbelieving fans say they are massive. There is a defiance to this team, a refusal to wilt under pressure, but there is quality too. This run is not a fluke. West Ham had already defied expectations by beating Sevilla last month and, although they will need to be good again when they face Eintracht Frankfurt in the last four, they deserve to be seen as a genuine European force after the way they took Lyon apart on an astonishing night at the Groupama Stadium.
