Sevilla take slim first-leg lead over West Ham with Munir El Haddadi goal

This was a game of fine margins and in the end it belonged to the side with greater European knowhow. Sevilla usually tend to find a way in this competition and although they did not have it all their own way here, they were more ruthless than West Ham and knew how to see themselves over the line once Munir El Haddadi had given them the lead with a fine strike on the hour.

For West Ham, the primary emotion was frustration. Ultimately they only had themselves to blame. David Moyes’s side missed several excellent chances in both halves and, while they will back themselves to turn this last-16 tie around when Sevilla visit the London Stadium next week, their European adventure will be over if they do not sharpen up in front of goal.

All the same it was worth taking a moment at the start to consider how far West Ham have come since appointing Moyes two years ago. After all this, a glamour tie against opponents who more or less own this competition, was unfamiliar territory for them.

They have been more accustomed to battling relegation than appearing on the European stage and it would have been understandable if there had been a few nerves at kick-off, a few players in claret and blue wondering if they truly deserved to be at the Estadio Ramon Sánchez Pijuan, where there is no shortage of reminders that Sevilla have won the Europa League six times.

Yet there is a robustness to West Ham these days and they did not look out of place during an absorbing first half. There was a crispness to their football and their boldness seemed to unsettle Sevilla at times, particularly with Michail Antonio running the channels and doing everything possible to unnerve a defence that looked vulnerable with Nemanja Gudelj alongside Jules Koundé