Declan Rice and Said Benrahma score as West Ham beat Rapid Vienna in Europa League Group H

A much-changed West Ham side made it two wins from two in Group H of the Europa League with a 2-0 victory at home to Rapid Vienna on Thursday night.

David Moyes made seven changes to the XI who beat Leeds at the weekend as his West Ham squad continue to juggle the demands of European and domestic football.

However, Rapid Vienna manager, Dietmar Kuhbauer also rested a few players himself, including star man Marco Grull, with the team sitting second-bottom of the Austrian Bundesliga ahead of their must-win game against fellow strugglers WSG Tirol on Sunday.

The Hammers dominated the opening half in their first-ever home Europa League group-stage match and Declan Rice finally made the breakthrough just under half an hour into the game after both he and Craig Dawson had already hit the post twice.

Andriy Yarmolenko lofted a ball over the top of the Rapid defence, Michail Antonio chested it down and squared it to Rice, who tapped it in and celebrated emphatically in front of the riled up opposition fans.

The second half was a much more physical and cagey affair and it seemed West Ham would rue not taking their chances when the visitors were awarded a penalty in the 70th minute.

Much to the pleasure of the packed out London Stadium, the penalty was overturned once VAR clarified Marco Grull had in fact tripped himself up instead of being fouled by Ben Johnson.

Jarrod Bowen rounding the keeper and blasting over 10 minutes later wasted another opportunity to put the game beyond reach, but he made amends by assisting Said Benrahma for a last-gasp goal in injury-time.

Benrahma will be hoping for more of the same in West Ham's next match - a return to his previous club Brentford on Sunday.

While West Ham's performances last season showed they had the quality to make an impact in the Europa League, the usual questions surrounding teams outside the Premier League's top six were waiting to be answered.

But the combination of fringe players and veterans stepping up, along with some astute summer signings, has clearly given the Hammers everything they need to fire on all cylinders.

That means David Moyes can continue to make a plethora of changes ahead of each group stage game with much more confidence than before. Is it premature to say they could even be contenders for the Europa League title?

A second goal in as many Europa League games for a defensive midfielder who rarely scores is the mark of a man who rises to the big occasion, and the passion he showed throughout the game, as well as while celebrating his goal tonight, looked a far cry from that of a man who is desperate for a move away.

West Ham: Areola 6, Johnson 7, Creswell 8, Dawson 8, Diop 8, Rice 9, Noble 7, Yarmolenko 7, Benrahma 8, Vlasic 6, Antonio 8. Subs: Lanzini 6, Soucek 6, Bowen 7, Fornals 7

Rapid Vienna: Gartler 6, Ullmann 6, Aiwu 6, Wimmer 6, Greiml 5, Grahovac 5, Petrovic 6, Fountas 5, Knasmullner 6, Arase 6, Kara 5. Subs: Stojkovic 6, Grull 6, Kitagawa 5, Auer 6, Ljubicic N/A

8' - OFF THE POST!! Noble wins a free-kick, whips it in from the left and Rice's header hits the inside of the post! Diop seizes on the rebound and puts his effort marginally wide.

27' - OFF THE POST!! Antonio wins a corner and another dangerous Cresswell delivery from the right follow. The onrushing Dawson heads it straight at the post, as West Ham hit the woodwork for the second time this evening.

29' - GOAL!!! Yarmolenko dinks a ball into the box for Antonio, who chests it down and squares it to Rice, who nets for the second time in two Europa League games! He celebrates emphatically in front of the Rapid Vienna fans, much to their annoyance.

42' - CLOSE!! Feel like a broken record at this point, as Cresswell delivers yet another fantastic corner from the right. Dawson makes a late run again and this time his header is ever so slightly over!

70' - PENALTY!! Johnson is adjudged to have brought down Grull just inside the box and the referee points to the spot!

72' - PENALTY OVERTURNED!!! The VAR official instructs the referee to look at the pitch-side monitor and it's clear to see that Grull trips over his own feet instead of being fouled by Johnson, so the penalty is chalked off and West Ham's lead is intact.

81' - CHANCE!! Big, big miss from Bowen! Fornals threads through a pinpoint ball to Bowen past the defence, who then rounds Gartler before getting his feet in tangle trying to shoot on the swivel while off balance and his shot towards a practically open goal sails over.

90+5' - GOAL!!! Bowen receives the ball with his back to goal and spreads it out wide to Benrahma in space. He then cuts inside and passes the ball into the bottom right corner to seal the win for West Ham!