Dominant Eintracht Frankfurt leave West Ham with uphill task

In the end the only consolation for West Ham was that they are still in the tie. The damage could have been more severe. Eintracht Frankfurt were superior for long spells and, as David Moyes picks through a messy performance from his team, he will feel relieved that West Ham will have a chance of reaching the Europa League final when they travel to Germany next week.

There is much for a naive West Ham to improve before the second leg. Eintracht picked them off at will at times and should have departed the London Stadium with more than a 2-1 lead. It would have been undeserved if West Ham, whose goal came from Michail Antonio, had equalised when Jarrod Bowen’s overhead kick struck the bar in stoppage time.

It meant so much to both sides to have come this far. There was no sense of ennui in the stands; no sense of anyone taking this for granted. After all, younger West Ham fans had never seen anything like this before. This was their side’s first European semi-final since 1976 – through a strange quirk of fate, that was also against Frankfurt – and it was not a surprise to find the ground packed long before kick-off, the hairs on the back of the neck standing to attention when the home fans launched into a rousing rendition of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles a the teams emerged.

Yet Frankfurt were never going to be overawed after stunning Barcelona in the previous round. The visitors were backed by a large travelling contingent and, more importantly, were not short of confidence on the pitch. There was a crispness to Oliver Glasner’s side, trouble flaring when Daichi Kamada had possession, and the early signs were ominous for West Ham, who could not have imagined that they would be behind with less than a minute on the clock.