Freiburg 1-2 West Ham
WEST HAM CONTINUED continental cruise as headers from Lucas Paqueta and Nayef Aguerd secured a 2-1 win at Freiburg and a record 17th match unbeaten in Europe.
The Hammers took control of Europa League Group A with a battling display in southern Germany.
The match may have taken place on the edge of the Black Forest, but it was never going to be a piece of cake against a side eighth in the Bundesliga.
They were also up against 34,000 noisy fans, with no away supporters allowed to attend following incidents during West Ham’s Europa Conference League final triumph in June.
That march to Prague contributed to West Ham’s now record unbeaten streak, putting them one ahead of Bill Nicholson’s Tottenham, Don Revie’s Leeds and Pep Guardiola’s current Manchester City.
Freiburg’s nickname is the Breisgau Brazilians due to their flamboyant style of play, but it was West Ham’s Samba star Paqueta who put them ahead after only nine minutes.
Vladimir Coufal collected the ball from Mohammed Kudus and sent Jarrod Bowen scampering down the right.
Bowen, buzzing after his recall to the England squad, drew his marker out before sending in a cross which Paqueta met with a towering header above two defenders at the far post.
Moments later a shot from Kudus was spilled by goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, who was mightily relieved to see the ball cannon back off the foot of his post.
Then Paqueta had the ball in the net after a surging run into the box from Pablo Fornals, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Freiburg’s cow field of a pitch was making it difficult for both sides to knock the ball around with any confidence.
But West Ham had initially adapted better and could have doubled their lead when James Ward-Prowse got through on the stroke of half-time, but his shot was too close to Atubolu.
The Hammers should have been further ahead but sat back on their lead, so there was an all-too familiar feeling when Freiburg equalised after the restart.
Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was unfortunate, keeping out Roland Sallai’s shot and the follow-up from Lukas Kubler but Sallai smashed the ball home at the third attempt.
West Ham then had an almighty let-off when Kiliann Sildillia’s header bounced off the woodwork and Lucas Holer blazed the rebound over from six yards out.
Instead the visitors wrapped up the victory after 66 minutes, Aguerd rising highest to head home Ward-Prowse’s corner.
Bowen should have marked his return to the national squad with a sixth goal of the season – only to fire wide when clean through – but West Ham had done enough to sit top of the group with six points from their opening two matches.
Marseille 2-2 Brighton
Brighton gave themselves a Europa League lifeline as Joao Pedro’s late penalty completed a comeback from two goals down away to Marseille and helped Roberto De Zerbi’s side avoid a second straight European defeat.
Pedro slotted home in the 88th minute after Tariq Lamptey was tripped inside the box, earning the visitors what had looked an unlikely point when Marseille duo Chancel Mbemba and Jordan Veretout struck two goals within a minute of each other in the first half.
At that stage, a badly out-of-sorts Brighton looked like they would be lucky to avoid the kind of thrashing Aston Villa meted out to them on Saturday. Marseille threw everything at them, whilst the visitors gave only space and encouragement.
Still they held on, figured out how to contain Gennaro Gattuso’s side, and hit back. Pascal Gross made it 2-1 after 56 minutes, and from there their pressure grew until Pedro’s dramatic intervention at the death.
Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson featured as a late substitute for Brighton, replacing Danny Welbeck and picking up a yellow card in stoppage time.
Marseille started with high energy, roared on by the support of a noisy Stade Velodrome.
Amine Harit tested the reflexes of Jason Steele early, lifting a free-kick over the wall and requiring the Brighton goalkeeper to leap and flick it over the bar.
Gattuso’s side had conceded 10 goals in their last three games and were winless in five, but this was a confident opening that defied their lowly Ligue 1 position of 12th.
Brighton by contrast were lethargic off the ball and careless when on it, giving away possession as they sought to play out through midfield, inviting pressure onto themselves.
After 19 minutes, that pressure yielded a goal. Kaoru Mitoma slipped as he sought to close the ball down, allowing France international Jonathan Clauss space to charge down the right flank and, after linking up with Iliman Ndiaye, he fired in low cross which the unmarked Mbemba – the former Newcastle defender – guided home first-time past Steele from near the penalty spot.
There was barely time for De Zerbi to take stock before it was 2-0, and it was Brighton captain Lewis Dunk on his European debut whose mistake set things in motion, missing his kick and losing the ball inside his own half, allowing Harit time to size up a cross. With Dunk out of position Joel Veltman came across to clear but was fractionally too slow to prevent Veretout beating him to it and striking it beyond Steele, who appeared to let the ball bounce through his hands.
Then came what appeared to be Brighton’s road back. The referee was called to the pitchside monitor to adjudicate on a possible Marseille handball inside their box and initially said penalty. After a moment of confusion, VAR ruled there had been an earlier foul, and Brighton’s lifeline was whipped away.
With the home support buoyed into a deafening chorus, Marseille sought the third goal to bury Brighton and Steele was called on again to turn over a long-range Harit effort.
Pau Lopez in the hosts’ goal twice denied Brighton late in the half, first flinging himself to keep out Ansu Fati’s header then blocking with his feet after Danny Welbeck raced clear from Veltman’s through-ball.
The second half began with renewed Marseille pressure and so it was against the run of play that Gross hauled Brighton back into it. Lamptey carried the ball almost to the byline and tucked it back for Mitoma, who looked up to see Gross arriving in the box and teed him up to make it 2-1.
It had a transformative effect and suddenly Brighton had found their rhythm. The wayward passing of the first half became accurate and direct, and now it was Marseille conceding possession cheaply.
They still had a chance to restore a two-goal lead when substitute Vitinha looked to have got the better of Dunk after a hoofed ball up from Lopez, but the captain recovered brilliantly to block.
Mitoma struck a left-footed effort too close to Lopez allowing the goalkeeper to parry as Brighton’s intensified their threat.
Then, late drama and a chance for De Zerbi’s side to salvage their European campaign.
Clauss dived in on Lamptey as he looked to dart into a channel inside the box, and the referee did not hesitate. From the spot, substitute Pedro defied the pressure to send Brighton home with a point.
Aris Limassol 2-1 Rangers
Managerless Rangers’ season went from bad to worse with a 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.
Former Gers midfielder Steven Davis was asked to take over as boss on an interim basis after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the dismal 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen at Ibrox which left them seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.
However, whatever plan Davis put in place for Europe did not work in a dreadful first-half performance which saw defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda head the home side in front after just nine minutes.
Striker Shavy Babicka added a simple second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men 10 minutes later but despite heavy pressure in the final stages the visitors could not complete the comeback.
Rangers beat Real Betis in their Group C opener but once again the players came up short.
The Light Blues travel to St Mirren on Sunday before the international break but this was a real setback in Europe with a double-header against Sparta Prague looming.
There had been some encouraging team news for the visitors in the build-up to the game with striker Kemar Roofe and midfielder Nico Raskin declared fit.
However, only the latter, who had missed four games with a knock, started with left-back Borna Barisic and attacker Scott Wright, sent off against Aberdeen, also coming into the first Gers team picked by Davis.
The Cypriot side, who claimed their first league title last season, were playing their first home game in the Europa League in an 11,000-capacity stadium which looked less than half-full with a pitch far from perfect.
Rangers, playing in a new mainly-red kit, looked disjointed and ill at ease from the start and there was no real surprise when they fell behind.
Jack Butland blocked a shot from Mihlali Mayambela for a corner which was taken short and when Leo Bengtsson crossed into the box from the right, Moucketou-Moussounda got away from Ibrox defender Connor Goldson to flick a header past the Gers keeper.
Moments later, after Barisic sloppily conceded possession, a quick Aris counter ended with Bengtsson clearing the Rangers bar from close range when he at least should have hit the target.
The rattled visitors battled back and Aris’s Brazilian keeper Vana comfortably saved an angled-drive from Sam Lammers and then Gers striker Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside by the linesman, confirmed by a lengthy VAR check.
Vana saved a Sima header from a Barisic corner then the keeper collided with Dessers inside the box and required some treatment before continuing.
The home side claimed for a penalty just on the stroke of half-time when the ball appeared to hit Sima’s hand inside the box but a VAR check ruled in favour of the lacklustre Light Blues.
Mayembela started the second half by driving over from the edge of the box with the Gers defence again looking fragile.
When Sima’s shot was parried into the air by Vana in the 54th minute Dessers could not finish it off although he was offside.
The Cypriot side always looked dangerous on the break and Rangers fell further behind when Bengtsson left midfielder John Lundstram in his slip-stream down the left and crossed for Babicka to escape the attention of Ibrox defender Ben Davies and beat Butland with a confident finish.
In the 67th minute Davis brought on Roofe and Jose Cifuentes for Lammers and Raskin and there was a quick return when Sima headed in a Lundstram cross, which brought another VAR check but this time the goal stood.
Rangers had hope.
Moments later, however, a mistake by Davies inside his own box almost proved costly but Butland saved the drive from Aris substitute Aleksandr Kokorin at the expense of a corner which came to nothing.
Rangers pushed hard in the final stages for the equaliser but it was mostly in desperation and not even six minutes of added time could help salvage a point.
