Sevilla and West Ham didn’t shine on the UEL stage on Thursday night, but the importance of the game – it was the 1/8 finals first-leg fixture – had cut them from under. The Spaniards will travel to East London with 1-0 in their pockets, although it seems this tie could go both ways bearing in mind the equity between the sides.There’s not much separating them, and the Hammers will definitely put on a more courageous display in front of their ecstatic fans at the London Stadium.West Ham in Seville marching to the stadium ahead of their game against Sevilla tonight. #WHUFC #irons pic.twitter.com/w0xhxW63Cq— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) March 10, 2022 Although Sevilla had the game’s first chance, West Ham quickly fought back through Michail Antonio and Diego Fornals. The former strolled the right flank before blasting it, but the keeper denied it. The latter had a clear cut chance as Declan Rice had served him the ball on the plate. Alas, Fornals’ header from the edge of the six-yard box didn’t surpass the custodian’s hand on the goal-line. Full time in Spain: Sevilla 1 – 0 West Ham United. #UEL ⚽🇪🇸🏴 pic.twitter.com/STuWW7k26n— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) March 10, 2022 Hardship battle of the formidable sides unrolled, as both tried to establish the dominance in the middle. However, it stayed goalless without a lot of action on both ends before the break.Soucek was eager to make a statement straight from the kick-off in the second half, but the state of the score-line remained the same. It changed, though soon, after a brilliant set-pieces setup.Acuna crossed it from the right, and El Haddadi’s remarkable strike on the far post made it 1-0 for Sevilla.Albeit more than 30 minutes were left on the clock at that moment, it looked as if the game went into a sort of standstill, never to return from it. The hosts kept their calm and a single-goal lead, which provided a substantial advantage ahead of the return leg in quite a hostile environment. UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE – ROUND OF 16First legSevilla – West Ham 1-0 (0-0)/El Haddadi 60/23.00: (1.95) Rangers (3.50) Crvena Zvezda (4.40)23.00: (3.40) Braga (3.35) Monaco (2.30)23.00: (2.25) Atalanta (3.50) Leverkusen (3.35)23.00: (1.18) Barcelona (8.00) Galatasaray (18.0)
