Football Features

    Fiorentina 1-2 West Ham: Player ratings as Bowen helps Hammers end 43-year wait

    By Harry Edwards

    Published: 22:19, 7 June 2023

    West Ham United ended their 43-year wait for a major trophy thanks to a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.

    After a goalless first half, Said Benrahma gave West Ham the lead just after the hour mark from the penalty spot but it lasted just five minutes before Giacomo Bonaventura equalised.

    But just as the game looked set to be going into extra time, Jarrod Bowen beat the offside trap to end West Ham’s long wait for a major trophy.

    Here’s how the players rated at the Fortuna Arena:

    Fiorentina

    Pietro Terracciano – 7 – A calm presence in the box for Fiorentina but was well beaten by the penalty.

    Dodo – 7 – Got forward a lot knowing he didn’t really have to defend against Emerson countering, making the most of the space left by Gonzalez ahead of him.

    Nikola Milenkovic – 8 – Had an interesting war with Antonio that he came out on top of, though the West Ham man did win a couple of battles.

    Luca Ranieri – 7 – Relatively untroubled as Milenkovic dealt with Antonio.

    Cristiano Biraghi – 5 – Struck on the head by a plastic cup in the first half, cutting him open. Penalised for handball, pushing the ball away from Bowen inside the box. Then played Bowen onside for the winner.

    Giacomo Bonaventura – 8 – Part of an excellent Fiorentina midfield, he equalised for the Italian side with a wonderful placed finish after lovely control. A real moment of class.

    Sofyan Amrabat – 8 – The game was played as Amrabat’s pace, with the Moroccan controlling the tempo in midfield. West Ham’s midfielders couldn’t get anywhere near him and played a beautiful pass into the box in the build up to Bonaventura’s equaliser.

    Rolando Mandragora – 8 – Completed the midfield dominance, looking good but in the end it counted for nothing.

    Nicolas Gonzalez – 7 – Tucked inside allowing Dodo to overlap and won the header against Emerson to set up the equaliser. A real threat when he wanted to stay on his feet.

    Luka Jovic – 5 – Was pretty quiet in the first half with just 17 chances. Thought he had given Fiorentina the head just before the break but he had just strayed offside before catching a rebound. Taken off at half time.

    Christian Kouame – 6 – Looked to ask questions of the West Ham defence with decent movement on the ball and hit the post with a header just before half time.

    Substitutes:

    Arthur Cabral (for Jovic 45) – 7 – Got involved well in the second half, like night and day with the man he replaced.

    Riccardo Saponara (for Kouame 62) – 6 – Did okay after coming on.

    Igor Julio (for Ranieri 84) – 4 – Brought on, you assume, in preparation for extra time but he got caught out by Bowen’s run for the winner.

    Antonin Barak (for Mandragora 90) – N/A – A late sub.

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    West Ham

    Alphonse Areola – 8 – Beaten by the placement of Bonaventura’s shot but was otherwise strong.

    Vladimir Coufal – 7 – Had his work cut out for him defensively but set up the move for the penalty with a wonderful long throw, thinking quickly.

    Kurt Zouma – 7 – Was solid enough in defence for West Ham, holding firm when Fiorentina dominated in the first half. Had to come off on the hour mark due to injury.

    Nayef Aguerd – 8 – Defensively very strong and asserted his dominance with a great tackle on Gonzalez in the first half.

    Emerson – 6 – Only really got forward once and was beaten easily in the air for Fiorentina equaliser. However, he became the first player to complete the hat-trick of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

    Tomas Soucek – 4 – A real struggler in the midfield but forced a couple of good saves late on. He won’t care.

    Declan Rice – 5 – Produced a good tackle on Gonzalez inside the box early on but wasn’t able to take control of the game when West Ham needed him to. Again, it doesn’t matter in the end as he was the man to lift the trophy for West Ham. His last Hammers game?

    “It’s not a goodbye yet,” Rice told beIN Sports. “Obviously there’s loads of speculation but look nothing’s happened, I’m a West Ham player, I’ve still got two years left on my contract. I love every minute of it here, you can see the smile on my face. It’s not about that tonight, it’s about us celebrating and that’s what I’m going to go do now.”

    Jarrod Bowen – 8 – Had to do a lot more defending than attacking in the first half. But when it matter boy did he step up. Was alert to Soucek’s long thrown to win the penalty and then broke through Fiorentina’s high line to score the winning goal.

    Lucas Paqueta – 7 – Wasn’t in the game at all in the first half, but neither were many of his teammates. Stepped up after half-time and tested Fiorentina’s defence with a couple of beautiful through balls including the excellent assist for the winner.
    Said Benrahma – 6 – Booked for an atrocious dive in the first half, flopping like a fish, and struggled to get into the game. Gave West Ham the lead from the spot with a very good penalty, but perhaps didn’t have the impact Moyes would have wanted.

    Michail Antonio – 6 – In a tough battle against Milenkovic that he didn’t win on the pitch, though he did off it. Struggled to hold the ball up early and but grew into the game. Wasn’t helped by the referee letting Fiorentina get a bit too physical on him.

    Substitutes:

    Thilo Kehrer (for Zouma 61) – 7 – Looked unfazed after coming on, slotting in for Zouma well.

    Pablo Fornals (for Benrahma 76) – 7 – Great after coming on.

    Angelo Ogbonna (for Antonio 90) – N/A – A late sub.

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