Yarmolenko strikes in extra time to sink Sevilla and send West Ham through

This will go down as one of the greatest games in West Ham’s history. It was an occasion to rival the farewell to Upton Park and it could not have been more fitting that the decisive touch came from Andriy Yarmolenko, who was the calmest person in the London Stadium when the ball fell to him in front of goal with eight minutes of extra time left.

They were all off the bench when he put the rebound away after Sevilla’s goalkeeper, Bono, pushed Pablo Fornals’ shot into his path. The noise, the sheer emotion, took the breath away. This crowd had seen Yarmolenko mark his return from compassionate leave with a goalscoring cameo against Aston Villa last weekend and now they had witnessed the Ukraine winger provide another moment of incredible drama, scoring the goal that sent West Ham through to their first European quarter-final since 1981.

Anything feels possible this time. West Ham have attacked the Europa League with relish and it is not going overboard to say that nobody will fancy landing them in Friday’s draw for the last eight, particularly once they examine how David Moyes’s side managed to defeat opponents who have won this competition six times.

It was an extraordinary effort. One-nil down at the start of play, West Ham simply would not be denied. “We were massive,” Moyes said. “We played with great passion. It’s not just Yarmolenko. It was the team. His message and his name will be heard all round Europe. But the story is not just about Yarmolenko. The story was about West Ham.”

There were heroes everywhere in claret and blue. Declan Rice was imperious in midfield, winning his tackles and spreading the play. Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson headed everything away at the back and Ben Johnson pinned down Anthony Martial,