Europa League: West Ham secure victory; Leicester's woes continue
West Ham United maintained their perfect start to the UEFA Europa League 2021-22 campaign, taking command of Group H. The Hammers beat Rapid Vienna 2-0 at home after overcoming Dinamo Zagreb a fortnight ago. Meanwhile, fellow Premier League side Leicester City were beaten by Legia Warsaw. The Foxes are placed bottom of Group C. Here are the key records that were scripted.
West Ham see off Rapid Vienna at home
West Ham were the better side and dominated the show. They saw Declan Rice score the opening goal in the 29th minute. Rice had a simple tap-in before Said Benrahma's injury-time effort saw them complete a 2-0 win. Notably, Rice also hit the post and Craig Dawson saw his header bounce back off the woodwork. Substitute Jarrod Bowen missed a glorious chance as well.
Rice and Antonio script these feats
As per Opta, Rice is just the third player to score on both of his first two European appearances for West Ham (excluding qualifiers), after David Cross in 1980 and Brian Dear in 1965. West Ham forward Michail Antonio now has six goals and four assists this season. His tally is now the joint-highest among Premier League players (level with Mohamed Salah).
Moyes targets top place and an European stay after Christmas
West Ham manager David Moyes told BT Sport: "I want to try and be in Europe after Christmas by finishing one or two, so we want to win the group if we can." "We are not going to let up, we are enjoying it and won't be letting it go easy, but I have to manage Premier League games too," he added.
Legia Warsaw beat Leicester at home
Legia Warsaw collected a famous victory at home in Poland by beating Leicester City 1-0. Leicester have started the season inconsistently and are winless in the first two games. The defeat follows a 2-2 draw against Napoli in the opening game. Mahir Emreli scored the only goal in the 31st minute with a low finish. Leicester did have chances but failed to take them.
Harry Kane shines for Tottenham in Europa Conference League
In the Europa Conference League, Harry Kane came off the bench and scored a brilliant hat-trick for Tottenham in their 5-1 win against NS Mura. Starting their Group G opener with a draw, Spurs bounced back in style. Dele Alli and Giovani lo Celso scored quick goals before the visitors pulled one back in the second half. However, Kane then scored a hat-trick.
Records scripted by Kane
As per Opta, Kane is just the third player to score a hat-trick in three different major UEFA competitions (excluding qualifiers), after Jupp Heynckes and Gerd Muller. Kane has now scored a hat-trick in the Champions League, Europa League, and the Conference League. Kane has now raced to 227 goals in 345 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions. He has six goals this season.
