West Ham 5-0 Freiburg (5-1 agg): Hammers blow Germans away to ease pressure on David Moyes and book third straight European quarter-final… as Mohammed Kudus scores WONDERGOAL after dribbling from inside his own half

If you can’t perform, don’t go on stage. Those were the words David Moyes had said to his West Ham players before the biggest game of the season.

On a night when victory was the only option, his team rose to the occasion, and then some.

Two of West Ham’s most important players, Lucas Paquetá and Jarrod Bowen, starred in the first act. Then it was Aaron Cresswell, a man who has had to play more of a substitute role this season, who took center stage. Mohammed Kudus scored a solo goal worthy of a standing ovation before closing the show with a magnificent second.

Expectations have risen since West Ham qualified for this competition three years ago. Despite coming into the second leg with a 1-0 deficit, they were the favorites to beat SC Freiburg, the team currently in eighth place in the Bundesliga.

But few could have anticipated a demolition as compelling as this one.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Moyes had said in 2021 that he wanted West Ham to become a great club in Europe and they are already three European quarterfinals in three years. Even after a night like this, you’ll still have some skeptics. But it’s hard to argue with those statistics.

This is also a significant victory for the Premier League, which is now in a stronger position to claim a fifth place for next season’s Champions League.

Due to the new format, two ‘performance’ places are at stake, which will be determined by the two countries with the best average performance in all European competitions this season.

Italy was leading, Germany second and England third before last night’s game. The Hammers eliminating a German team could prove significant in the long term.

Moyes made three changes to the team that drew 2-2 with Burnley on Sunday, with captain Kurt Zouma replacing Nayef Aguerd in defense, while Kalvin Phillips and James Ward-Prowse left for Edson Alvarez and Michail Antonio.

Moyes knew his team needed a quick start and he got it. After forcing three corners in the first 10 minutes, the fourth ended with the ball in the net.

Aaron Cresswell’s delivery was activated by Tomas Soucek and Paqueta was there to slide in and finish at the far post.

West Ham could have been 2-0 up soon after when Antonio came in from the right and cut back for Mohammed Kudus, but the winger could only tip over from close range.

But shortly after the half hour mark came the second goal. Coufal’s header was tapped in by Antonio to Bowen, who withstood a strong challenge from Christian Gunter before firing a magnificent shot into the bottom right corner.

There was a danger that West Ham would be forced to sit back and protect what they had, but that notion was quashed when a third goal arrived in the 52nd minute.

Bowen’s cut-back was cleared only as far as Cresswell, who was waiting on the edge of the area. The left back took a touch of his feet before firing an arrow shot into the bottom right corner.

The fourth goal was undoubtedly the best of the night. Kudus recovered the ball just inside his own half, dribbled past three players before sending a clinical shot into the back of the net.

His second goal was almost as good, a shot from the edge of the area that left Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu with no chance.