Jarrod Bowen struck a 90th minute winner as West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1 to win 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League.
Bowen pounced upon a 90th minute through ball by Lucas Paqueta and calmly rifled in to secure West Ham’s first major European title in 58 years.
Said Benrahma had put the Hammers ahead from a 62nd minute penalty after Cristiano Biraghi handballed Bowen’s chest-down of a long throw-in.
Giacomo Bonaventura equalised for Fiorentina in the 67th minute with a calm strike as he pounced upon Nicolas Gonzalez’s knockdown header.
Victory also meant that West Ham have now qualified for next season’s Europa League, alongside Liverpool and Brighton who had qualified via the Premier League.
Having entered their first major European final since 1976 with 13 wins from 14 matches in this season’s Europa Conference League, West Ham almost took an early lead after 38 seconds on a quick counter-attack but Michail Antonio’s scruffy shot was saved by Pietro Terracciano.
Fiorentina however imposed a dangerously physical high-intensity press but struggled to create clear-cut chances in the opening 20 minutes, aside from Rolando Mandragora’s ninth-minute shot but he dragged his attempt wide across goal.
West Ham though was able to soak up the Serie A club’s pressure especially from their speciality – set pieces, as Nikola Milenkovic headed wide from a 26th minute corner to the near-right post.
Said Benrahma meanwhile picked up the first yellow card of the match in the 31st minute, having dribbled his way into space around the box but opted to dive into the box under minimal contact with Bonaventura.
Nayef Aguerd two minutes later conceded a corner-kick but play was stopped for three minutes after Fiorentina’s Biraghi was struck with plastic pint cups, of which one cup caused a cut on the back of his head.
Play resumed in the 37th minute following calls for calm from West Ham players to their supporters, as both teams continued to defend solidly amidst high-intensity attacks.
Fiorentina almost entered half-time with the lead after Gonzalez whipped in a cross in the fourth minute of injury time, which Christian Kouame headed onto the left post only for the ball to bounce for an offside Luka Jovic to poke in beyond Alphonse Areola’s reach.
West Ham ultimately clung on to stay level at the break despite having just one shot on target, comparedto Fiorentina’s zero shots on target despite having the larger possession dominance compared to David Moyes’ Hammers.
Fiorentina at half-time opted to make a tactical change as Jovic was dropped for Arthur Cabral, yet the Italian team continued to struggle to create many chances until Kouame tried to curl in a shot but Areola was alert to make a 57th minute save.
Kouame’s chance came just seconds after Terracciano saved a knockdown header by Antonio, who had hoped that Bowen would make a successful run to rifle in beyond the Italian goalkeeper.
West Ham however seized a huge opportunity a minute later as Bowen chested down a long throw-in but Biraghi flicked the ball away with his hand, which led to handball appeals which referee – Carlos del Cerro Grande initially snubbed until Video-Assistant Referee (VAR) overturned his decision.
Benrahma stepped up in the 62nd minute and calmly smashed his penalty into the top-right corner to put the Hammers into the lead, as Terracciano dived in the opposite direction.
West Ham’s rising confidence however only lasted five minutes as Bonaventura gathered Gonzalez’s knockdown header, from which he calmly rifled across into the left corner beyond Areola’s reach to restore parity.
Fiorentina thereafter grew in confidence as Mandragora rifled wide in the 72nd minute, whilst Biraghi attempted to smash in via the underside of the bar five minutes later but Areola saved his shot.
Terracciano meanwhile crucially blocked Tomas Soucek’s 81st minute header as West Ham continued to threaten on the counter-attack.
Sofyan Amrabat almost completed Fiorentina’s comeback in the 89th minute as he pounced upon an interception, only for his curled shot towards the bottom-left corner to be saved by Areola.
Fiorentina’s hearts however were broken barely a minute later as Paqueta played Bowen through and the ex Hull City forward calmly rifled in across Terracciano to send West Ham fans wild in celebrations.
West Ham eventually survived nine minutes of injury time to seal their first major European title since 1965, which triggered rapturous celebrations across the stadium amongst supporters of the East-Londont team.
Speaking post-match to BT Sport, Bowen described his pride at having scored the winning goal as he commented: “I obviously dreamed of scoring but to score the winner in the last minute. It’s what you always say you want to do. To do it in front of these fans. I thought I was going to cry. I’m just happy.
“We had a dream, we haven’t had the best season, myself included, but to give these fans this moment, I’m over the moon.”
Moyes added that he is delighted to finally clinch a first major trophy since he led Manchester United to 2013 FA Community Shield, as he described the result as “fantastic” to be a part of as the manager of West Ham.
The 60 year-old proceeded to praise the club for their local impact, as he added: “It is a brilliant club in the East End of London that does wonderful work in the community. It is a great family club. It is getting better and stronger. This is another step on the road of continued progress.”
This season saw West Ham avoid defeat in Europe which Moyes believes is “incredible” after last season’s semi-final heartbreak against eventual winners – Eintracht Frankfurt.
Teams
Fiorentina – Pietro Terracciano, Dodo, Nikola Milenkovic, Luca Ranieri (Igor 84′), Cristiano Biraghi, Giacomo Bonaventura, Sofyan Amrabat, Rolando Mandragora (Barak 90+3′), Nicolas Gonzalez, Luka Jovic (Cabral 45′), Christian Kouame (Saponara 62′)
Substitutes: Riccardo Saponara, Arthur Cabral, Jonathan Ikone, Aleksa Terzic, Lorenzo Venuti, Martinez, Michele Cerofolini, Alfred Duncan, Alessandro Bianco, Antonin Barak, Josip Brekalo, Igor
West Ham – Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma (Kehrer 61′), Nayef Aguerd, Emerson Palmieri, Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice, Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio (Ogbonna 90+4′), Said Benrahma (Fornals 76′)
Substitutes: Lukasz Fabianski, Ben Johnson, Aaron Cresswell, Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, Flynn Downes, Maxwel Cornet, Danny Ings, Angelo Ogbonna, Thilo Kehrer, Freddie Potts, Divin Mubama
Referee – Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)
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