West Ham United have lifted their first major trophy in more than 40 years after scoring a late-game winner in a thrilling UEFA Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague on Wednesday evening.
⚒️ West Ham complete the 2022/23 Europa Conference League season 𝐔𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐍 🏆#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/7KGeXMyjgU
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) June 7, 2023
The Serie A side bossed possession throughout the game, but were unable to provide much threat to the East Londoners’ defense.
During first-half stoppage time, Alphonse Areola mishandled a header from Christian Kouame, and Luka Jovic thought he had put the Italian side ahead by slamming the ball home. However, VAR intervened after a lengthy offside check and canceled the goal, and the first half came to a goalless end.
West Ham beat Fiorentina with winner at the death
The deadlock wasn’t broken until the 62nd minute, when Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi got penalized for committing a handball inside the box, and Algerian winger Said Benrahma sent Fiorentina keeper Pietro Terracciano the wrong way and gave West Ham the lead.
However, Fiorentina responded just five minutes later. Giacomo Bonaventura drove it past Alphonse Areola from inside the box with a low-driven finish.
Both sides then tried their best to find another goal in the remaining time. In the 90th minute, Lucas Paqueta sent Jarred Bowen on a run beyond every defender with an amazing through ball, and Bowen made sure to put it past the keeper from just outside the box. The goal proved to be a late winner, as the Serie A side were unable to find an answer in extra time.
With this victory, West Ham United get the taste of European glory for the first time ever. It is also their first major trophy since winning the FA Cup in 1980.
David Moyes celebrating last night's Conference League title with 500 miles 😅🏴pic.twitter.com/mxqrKEepvb
— Everything Scotland 🏴 (@AboutScotlandd) June 8, 2023
Another Italian collapse in final after Roma’s Europa League defeat ahead of Inter Milan’s UCL Final
This season, a Serie A team climbed to the final of each of the European finals. However, two of the three have already lost, with AS Roma losing to Sevilla in the Europa League final last week, and Fiorentina getting handed a late defeat in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
However, the final of the biggest competition still awaits us, where Inter Milan will be facing Manchester City in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday. Manchester City are flying high right now and eyeing a treble after having already secured the Premier League and the FA Cup. They are considered favorites to win the Champions League final as well.
It is now up to Inter Milan to bring the Citizens down to earth and bring the Champions League title to Italy this season.
