European football has had duller midweeks.
After an astonishing quartet of Champions League quarter-final second legs – in which the dullest game on offer was a 3-3 draw – came a Thursday night of absolute nonsense. Leicester had already done their bit in the Conference before West Ham, Eintracht Frankfurt and the Europa League proper took centre stage.
For West Ham, a quite dizzyingly perfect evening that frankly defies description. Lyon, after an enterprising first 15 minutes, were abysmal but that owed much to the Hammers’ lack of panic in those early moments and gradual but irrevocable seizing of control. In the end, 3-0 did not flatter the visitors who have spent this whole Europa League campaign looking far more seasoned than the European novices they are. They have arguably been the tournament’s standout side from day one and only Frankfurt’s own antics stop this being the tournament’s standout performance.
Some commentators were wondering whether missing out on a trip to Barcelona would take the edge off this success. That is to miss the point of what West Ham should be – and are – thinking about here. This is not about a day out against the mighty Barcelona. This is about a chance to do something extraordinary. Something that, with all due respect to Eintracht Frankfurt, just got a whole lot likelier thanks to a pair of astonishing away performances.
On the back of this result, West Ham have a truly spectacular chance to win the Europa League. Think what that means. A first trophy for 42 years, for one thing. A second European title, taking them level with Arsenal. A place in next season’s Champions League; if you’re looking for a spurious ‘downer’ on a night as memorable as this one for West Ham then maybe it’s that the current rules mean that elevation to the top table would not come at the expense of the Premier League’s fourth-place finishers which is quite likely to be Spurs.
West Ham themselves were firmly in that race…
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