Goals from Gianluca Scamacca, Jarrod Bowen and young Divin Mubama got an excellent 10 out of 10 win. West Ham United inside European Conference League.
Hammers put their internal struggles aside to beat the Cypriot side 4-0 at the London Stadium to beat AEK Larnaca 4-0 and 6-0 on aggregate.
David Moyes‘ side came from a two-legged playoff to properly qualify for the competition and then won all six group games before advancing to the quarterfinals by disbanding Larnaca.
West Ham’s £35m summer transfer Scamacca has struggled to adjust to life in America. Premier LeagueHe injured his chances on offense with Michail Antonio, who scored double in the first match.
The 24-year-old, whose “physical data” was below what he should have been, according to Moyes, seemed eager to impress from the start.
20 minutes later he sent a 25-yard narrow-width curler before he found the net.
Scamacca, fed from the left corner of the penalty area by Manuel Lanzini, slashed the inside of defender Mikel Gonzales before he could shoot on goal.
It was a well-worn effort, writhing from the grip of goalkeeper Kenan Piric as he walked in.
Minutes later, Scamacca put the ball back into the net as Lucas ran towards Paqueta’s intermediate ball, but an offside flag stopped the celebrations.
Later, Larnaca’s goal was denied due to offside, Nemanja Nikolic denied the decision with VAR.
Visitors were reduced to 10 at halftime, with Gustavo Ledes getting red for a foul against Pablo Fornals.
Hammers doubled the lead when Piric fired Scamacca’s shot into Bowen’s foot, 90 seconds into the second half.
And just two minutes later, Bowen, who left the England squad in the early hours of Thursday, scored the third goal with a daring midfielder from Aaron Cresswell.
In the process, Bowen became West Ham’s all-time top scorer in Europe with eight goals.
There was a special moment for Mubama, the 18-year-old local lad who scored his first career goal with a smooth shot from Tomas Soucek’s header to complete a satisfying night’s work for Moyes’ men.