West Ham United vs Lyon. UEFA Europa League Quarter Final.
London StadiumAttendance20,331.
Match report as 10-man West Ham hold Lyon to a 1-1 home draw in Europa League quarter-final first leg; Hammers defender Aaron Cresswell sent off just before half-time; Jarrod Bowen gave home side lead before Lyon's on-loan Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele equalised
Friday 8 April 2022 06:13, UK
West Ham's Europa League quarter-final tie against Lyon remains in the balance after the 10-man Hammers battled to a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the London Stadium.
West Ham spent the entire second half a man down after defender Aaron Cresswell was sent off in first-half stoppage time. Cresswell was shown red after he brought down Lyon captain Moussa Dembele when through on goal, with the game goalless.
But the Irons took a shock 52nd-minute lead when Jerome Boateng's mistake fell to Jarrod Bowen whose shot deflected off of the diving German defender to loop over Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.
West Ham's lead, however, lasted just 14 minutes as they were haunted by on-loan Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele after he tapped home from close range.
The second leg in France will take place next Thursday (April 14) with the winner of the tie meeting either Barcelona or Eintracht Frankfurt in the last four.
The atmosphere at the London Stadium was red-hot ahead of West Ham's first European quarter-final since 1981 as they faced a Lyon side languishing in ninth in Ligue 1.
But the French side belied their poor league position throughout the match as they settled well in the capital, with former Fulham and Celtic forward Dembele miscuing their clearest chance of the first half.
West Ham's best opportunity of the opening 45 minutes fell to Said Benrahma after he was denied from a tight angle by Lopes.
The turning point of the match came in the third minute of first-half added time as Cresswell pulled down Dembele outside the West Ham box and was shown red by German referee Felix Zwayer for a last-man foul.
The decision infuriated Hammers boss David Moyes who received a yellow card for berating Zwayer at half-time.
West Ham's frustration though, quickly turned to joy as Bowen struck seven minutes into the second half to give the 10-man Hammers a surprise lead. The Englishman making it two goals in two games since returning from a month-long injury lay-off in Sunday's win over Everton.
Eleven minutes later, Bowen nearly turned provider but his cross just evaded the onrushing Michail Antonio.
But it proved to be West Ham's final chance of the game as Lyon grabbed a 66th-minute equaliser through Ndombele.
The on-loan Spurs player was on hand to turn home substitute Tete's low cross that had rebounded off Ryan Fredericks after Alphonse Areola had got a hand on the Brazilian winger's delivery.
Lyon unsurprisingly pushed for a winner as West Ham were frustrated by two pitch invaders, the second in particular, as he disrupted a rare Hammers attack.
Nonetheless, a couple of late Areola saves saw West Ham hold on to keep their Europa League dream alive going into next week's crucial second leg.
West Ham boss David Moyes to BT Sport: "First thing, you need to look at the foul on Jarrod Bowen in the build up [to Cresswell's red card]. I think over here, our VAR would look back on that because it's in the same phase of play. I'm certainly not going to comment about the referee.
"Would I take the result? Certainly. We were really resilient in the second half. When we went in at half-time knowing we had only got 10 men it made it a difficult job. We stuck at it. We had one or two opportunities ourselves but overall it was a backs to the wall sort of performance in the second half. But we're still in with a good shout.
"I don't know if the pressure is off because we want to get through, we want to qualify. The players stuck at it but we didn't play well. We can hopefully play much better next week."
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
After their team's heroics against Sevilla at the London Stadium three weeks ago, the West Ham supporters were in full voice in anticipation of their Europa League quarter-final first leg with Lyon before kick-off. The club's first European quarter-final in 41 years. The stage was set for a special night.
Forty-five minutes later they might have feared the dream was turning into a nightmare.
Aaron Cresswell's soft but probably correct dismissal for pulling back Moussa Dembele in first-half stoppage time left David Moyes' side exposed and their hopes of progressing from this tie seriously in doubt. With a good second-half display, Lyon could potentially end the contest after one leg.
But West Ham's remaining players produced a brilliant battling display to keep the tie alive.
Incredibly, they even took the lead, with a deflected strike from talisman Jarrod Bowen sparking wild celebrations around the stadium.
But while on-loan Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele levelled for Lyon - no doubt to the amusement of some in north London - West Ham didn't fold and, with the French side pushing forwards late on, the hosts put their bodies on the line to keep it at 1-1.
The sight of Craig Dawson, with blood pouring from his nose, slamming into a tackle on Dembele summed up the spirit.
It wasn't the type of performance the West Ham supporters had hoped for before the game - Moyes was quick to point out that his side had been below-par - but it was a display which, against the odds at half-time, has set up the potential for another historic night for the club next week.
West Ham return to Premier League action on Sunday when they travel to Brentford; kick-off at 2pm.
The Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon takes place on April 14; kick-off at 8pm.
