French newspapers deliver verdicts on West Ham duo after 1-1 v Lyon
West Ham kept their hopes of reaching their first European semi-final since 1976 alive after earning a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final with Lyon at London Stadium on Thursday.
French newspapers are disappointed that Lyon failed to take numerical advantage after Aaron Cresswell was sent off in the first half.
The most popular sports newspaper, L’Equipe have given rave reviews to Michail Antonio, suggesting he was “dominating”, and “ultra-present” during the game.
“Antonio did everything for them. Ultra present with his calls, dominating in the air,” wrote L’Equipe.
Le Parisien, another popular French newspaper, have noted that Cresswell was “guilty” for making a tackle on Moussa Dembele.
The newspaper wrote: “Just before the break, OL even found themselves in numerical superiority. Guilty of a tackle leaning on Moussa Dembélé, Aaron Cresswell left before everyone else in the shower (45th + 3).”
Big second leg
In big games like these, numerical advantage plays a key role, and West Ham will learn from this experience.
It was a poor decision from Cresswell to grab hold off Dembele who was never going to score from the corner flag.
The experienced left-back should have allowed him to run into channel, and avoided the contract. Once he made contact with Dembele, there was always going to be one outcome.
West Ham will have to score in France in the next round, and they face an uphill battle here.
Jarrod Bowen continued his impressive goal-scoring form when he put the Irons ahead early into the second half. Tanguy Ndombele restored parity for Lyon quickly.
Without an extra-man, the Hammers were forced to defend for long periods and they had rare chances going forward.
In other West Ham news, there is a Premier League rival prepared to break records to sign one of David Moyes’ main men in the summer.
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