Michail Antonio explains how West Ham planned to 'damage' AZ Alkmaar in Europa Conference League victory
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Published 11/05/2023 at 22:34 GMT+1
West Ham were 1-0 down midway through the second half of their first-leg tie against AZ Alkmaar at home in their Europa League semi-final, but two quick goals, the first from Said Benrahma and then Michail Antonio, gave them a potentially vital comeback win ahead of next week's return leg. Speaking after the match, Antonio explained his side's approach.
Michail Antonio
Image credit: Getty Images
West Ham match-winner Michail Antonio explained how his team planned to “damage” AZ Alkmaar in their Europa Conference League win.
The Dutch side went ahead towards the end of the first half when Tijjani Reijnders scored, and for a moment it looked as if West Ham might already be on their way out of the competition at the same stage as last year’s European exit.
However they have given themselves a much better chance with next week’s second leg yet to come in the Netherlands, by securing a 2-1 victory.
First up, playmaker Said Benhrama scored from the spot on 67 minutes, before veteran forward Antonio grabbed a second 12 minutes later.
Speaking to BT Sport after the win, Antonio said that David Moyes’ side were calm in their approach.
He said: "It definitely was [a tough game], from watching what they've done we knew they would play football and they're a decent team.
"We made it difficult for ourselves, we had chances, we just needed to be more clinical. In the end we got the result.
"We know they're a possession-based team, they know how to work it.
"We were like, 'Alright, we'll let you have it, and on the counter we'll damage you.’
"I was hoping I dropped on a couple of other things but it dropped on me perfectly [for my goal]. I got the goal, we got the win and we move on to next week."
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