West Ham top Europa League group with win over Freiburg
Aiming to bounce back after their 5-0 thrashing away to Fulham, West Ham were also hoping to recover physically after it was revealed that a bout of sickness raved through the squad ahead of the weekend’s loss.
Only a point was required to clinch top spot for the Hammers but they were clearly out to win and almost took the lead inside five minutes as the ball stood up perfectly for Lucas Paquetá on the edge of the box, but the Brazilian’s rocket effort cannoned off the crossbar.
Freiburg, who were playing a competitive game in England for the first time, did not take heed of that warning as the home side continued to impose their authority and made them pay just before the quarter-hour mark as Edson Álvarez picked out the run of Mohammed Kudus, who took a touch and slotted past Noah Atubolu.
The home side continued to be in the ascendancy throughout the first half and they doubled their lead just before HT as Álvarez played a one-two with Bowen, paraded forward into the box and clinically finished.
The German outfit struggled to impose themselves in the first half but Christian Streich’s HT team talk seemed to have inspired his players as they came out after the break with much more vigour and competitiveness.
Despite playing with more positivity, Davis Moyes’ players showed great defensive maturity to keep their opponents at bay for the majority of the half.
When called upon, Łukasz Fabiański saved well to deny Ritsu Doan with a strong right hand, as the Hammers comfortably saw out the remainder of the match to cruise to victory.
A win for West Ham sends them through to the last-16 of the competition, while Freiburg will come up against those that dropped out of the UEFA Champions League in a play-off in February.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Edson Álvarez (West Ham United)
