West Ham: Martin Keown reacts to Europa League draw with ‘foregone conclusion’ verdict
West Ham have a “phenomenal” recent record in Europe but their Europa League last-16 tie with Freiburg is “no forgone conclusion”, according to Martin Keown.
The Hammers will face familiar foes when they resume European duties having faced the same Bundesliga opponents twice in the group stages.
David Moyes’ men defeated the German outfit home and away in Group A and last season’s Europa Conference League winners will be hoping for a repeat.
But Keown, speaking live on talkSPORT (23 February, 11:23am), thinks West Ham will face a tough time of it in the tie.
“West Ham’s European record has been phenomenal the last number of years so no one really wants to draw them,” Keown said.
“But nonetheless if you’re eighth in the Bundesliga you’re still of a reasonable quality. We’ll see how good David Moyes is, he’s been fantastic up to now in Europe, that’s certainly going to be an interesting game Jim, but I wouldn’t say it’s a foregone conclusion.”
When do West Ham play Freiburg in the Europa League?
So, Freiburg again it is.
A trip to Germany awaits the Hammers supporters on March 7 before they have the return leg at the London Stadium a week later.
Hopefully by then, Moyes’ men have reversed their fortunes a little because their performances in the Premier League of late have been well below par, leading to speculation over the Scot’s future. Who knows, European football might provide a welcome distraction.
As for the tie itself, on the one hand its disappointing to draw a team they’ve already played in the group stages. On the other, beating them twice should provide plenty of confidence they get through the quarter-finals.
Keown is pretty fair in his assessment of the tie, Freiburg are going to be tough opponents but on paper there were probably much harder ties that could have awaited Moyes’ side.
But the romantics among the fanbase would certainly have been hoping for a little more of a glamour tie at this stage.
In other West Ham news, Thomas Tuchel has apparently made a decision on whether to join the Hammers.
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