Declan Rice shares key tactical switch that helped West Ham beat Sevilla
Declan Rice has revealed a key tactical change that allowed West Ham to beat Sevilla in the last round of the Europa League.
The Hammers cruised past the most successful team in the competition’s history 2-0 at the London Stadium [2-1 on aggregate].
Tomas Soucek scored the all-important opener with his midfield partner insisting it had been something the Irons had worked on ahead of the game.
“That was a little plan of ours,” Rice told West Ham. “We knew that their fullbacks were really small.
“So, we were trying to get Tomas [Soucek] into the box and cross to the back post.”
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Behind the scenes work often goes unnoticed but the detail that David Moyes and his staff put into their game plans is brilliant.
It was no fluke that Soucek continuously found himself free in that game and those small details turned out to be the defining factor in winning the game.
Moyes’ old school nature means that he often doesn’t receive the credit he deserves but maybe after people hear Rice talk, they will start to take notice.
Hopefully, the Scot has a few more tricks up his sleeves for this evening’s [April 7] showdown against Lyon.
The Hammers welcome the French outfit to the London Stadium in a must-win first leg of their quarter-final clash and it is imperative they win ahead of the return fixture in France next week.
It is a huge game that the players and the fans must be up for and hopefully, they take one big step towards the semi-final.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are eyeing a move for England international Jordan Pickford.
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