As Ian Darke said in commentary during the second half, this wouldn’t be one for West Ham’s highlight reel…
After a tension-building light show and a stirring rendition of bubbles, Mark Noble led the team out for our first fully-qualified European home game since a 0-0 draw against Steaua Bucharest in 1999. And frankly, but for the goals we scored, the light show might’ve been the highlight.
It was largely a poor football match determined by Rapid Vienna’s lack of quality on the ball and their disciplined defending without it.
We struggled to create and they struggled to connect a pass. But in a game of little action, there was one real highlight.
West Ham’s opener, scored by Declan Rice for his second goal in as many Europa League games, came at the end of a move of supreme quality. Four passes that cut open the Rapid defence and left Rice free to tap in from four yards in front of an empty net.
So how did we cut through a defence that seemed impossible to move with such ease?
I’ve used Abhishek Sharma’s website TactiMation to create these GIFs that should hopefully help explain what I’m on about… Also, accept my deepest apologies, we’re blue!
1. Saïd Benrahma drops deep to receive from Rice which drags Rapid’s right-back, Emanuel Aiwu, out of position.
2. After playing his pass inside, Rice immediately looks to run beyond Dejan Petrovič.
3. Andriy Yarmolenko makes a dart in behind before showing for a pass to feet from Benrahma. This little movement sends Kevin Wimmer’s momentum in the wrong direction and buys Yarmolenko an extra couple of seconds on the ball.
4. Yarmolenko uses this additional time well and turns to assess the options ahead of him.
5. Rice continues his run towards the box and aims for the space vacated by Wimmer as the Rapid centre-back steps out to press Yarmolenko.
6. Aaron Cresswell and Ben Johnson both hold their width on the flanks which makes their markers, Maximilian Ullmann and the covering Kelvin Arase, slow to react.
7. Nikola Vlasič stands still. And this is important because Petrovič prioritises picking Vlasic up over chasing Rice.
8. Antonio stays wide as his marker, Leo Greiml, is drawn inside to cover the central space left by Wimmer.
9. Yarmolenko’s ball takes four Rapid players out of the game, including Srđan Grahovac who lets Rice run right past him.
10. Antonio does brilliantly to bring the ball under his control using his chest as Rice flies into that huge central space vacated by Wimmer. Greiml has to turn back to close Antonio and Rapid goalkeeper Paul Gartler has to move across to the front post to stop Antonio from scoring.
11. Ullmann can’t get across in time (see point 6) and Rice is left free to tap home from Antonio’s pass.
This really was an excellent team goal where you can suddenly see all of the benefits of a well-coached attacking unit.
Rice’s instinct to get beyond his man and arrive in the box, Yarmolenko’s movement and pass, the full-backs’ maintaining the width on both touchlines and Antonio’s quality in the box all come together wonderfully.
If there was a perfect example of how to break down a disciplined defence, this would be it.
All rights reserved. Jack Elderton. 2020. Statistical input taken from Wyscout & Fbref (Statsbomb).
Jack Elderton 