Europa Conference League 2022-23: West Ham's road to the final
West Ham United will fancy their chances against Fiorentina as they enter the finals of the Europa Conference League on June 8. The Hammers defeated AZ Alkmaar 1-0 in the second leg and 3-1 on aggregate to reach their first major European final in 47 years. A goal from substitute Pablo Fornals was enough to seal the deal for David Moyes's men. Here's more.
How did West Ham fare in the group stages?
West Ham had a flawless group stage, they finished atop Group B with a perfect record of six wins. They were clubbed with Anderlecht, Silkeborg IF and Steaua București. The Hammers finished with 18 points and they had conceded just four goals while scoring 13. Results: WHUFC 3-1 Bucuresti, Silkeborg 2-3 WHUFC, Anderlecht 0-1 WHUFC, WHUFC 2-1 Anderlecht, WHUFC 1-0 Silkeborg, Bucuresti 0-3 WHUFC.
West Ham's performance in the knockouts
West Ham started the knockouts with a 2-0 win against AEK Larnaca. In the second leg, they were at their dominant best and thrashed Larnaca 4-0. They squared off against KAA Gent in the quarters and it started a 1-1 draw before the Hammers slammed the Belgians 4-1 at home. In the semifinals, they blanked Alkmaar 3-1 before earning a hard-fought 1-0 win.
Third major European final
This is the third major European final for West Ham in their club's history. Before this, the last time they reached a major European final was back in 1975-76 in the Cup Winner's Cup. They won the same tournament in 1964-65 against 1860 Munich.
Here are the key performers
Michail Antonio is the third-highest goalscorer with six goals. Jarrod Bowen has netted four while Fornals and Gianluca Scamacca have mustered three goals each. Lucas Paqueta has provided three assists, while Bowen has mustered two assists for the Hammers.
West Ham are unbeaten in the 2022-23 Conference League
The Hammers have entered the finals of the 2022-23 Europa Conference League unbeaten and will look to bring home the second major European title in their club's history. They reached the Europa League semi-finals last season but were beaten by the eventual champions Eintracht Frankfurt. They are second in terms of goals scored (26) in this campaign, only behind the finalists Fiorentina (36).
