When it comes to the Europa League, the first thing that many fans think of is Sevilla. In the 14 years from 2006 to 2020, they won six championships, including even three consecutive titles from 2013 to 2016.
However, Sevilla, which has no worries in the top four of La Liga this season and can let go to defend the glory of the cup owner, has broken in the round of 16. West Ham United, the only member of the Premier League, reversed the first leg of the first leg with two goals instigated by the old centre-forward Antonio, who was born in 90 years. They are in a half-zone with Barca and will face each other in the semi-finals if they pass the round of 8.
01. Excellent tactical bridgehead: Bring more back-row attacks
West Ham United's tactical system is that centre-forward Antonio acts as a bridgehead, bringing the back row to the insertion. After the team used The Lancini, there were some moments when Shoczek was liberated. The new Czech Ironman, though not as good as Nedved, is still the top B2B, with a strong forward score and good organizational propulsion.
West Ham's hidden danger is the injury of centre-back Diop and right-back Cao Farr, and the current use of centre-back Dawson is a weakness and also greatly weakens the team's strength.
Antonio is not known for scoring goals, his greatest value is to be able to hold the ball in the core area, and he can do the ball in the middle or pull the side of the pass.
Even if necessary, Antonio can go to the wing to organize a local attack and let his teammates move around him without the ball to improve the rhythm.
This time Antonio dribbled the ball from the centre to the left, attracting a large number of Sevilla defenders, leading to a 3-on-1 chance at West Ham United at the back post.
It seems that in this series of operations, Antonio's most impressive impression is that he is strong and can hold the ball, but the real value is still the restraint of the center of gravity of the Sevilla defense and the opportunity to give his teammates to score forward.
Was Shoczek's acceptance of Antonio's transfer ball and his post-nodding header break by accident? It's also a killer move for West Ham.
Facing the second-place team in La Liga, born in 1990, 31-year-old center Antonio won 9 of 17 one-on-one encounters on his feet, delivering 2 key passes and 1 assist to bring shots. Even in addition to these, he has a lot of penultimate and penultimate passes of tandem attacks.
02. With Antonio: West Ham United's attack is more efficient
In fact, from the statistical point of view, West Ham United does not have the advantage of possession, but they have more shooting opportunities and bring greater offensive threats. The 19-14 goal-to-goal ratio, the 8-2 shooting ratio, and West Ham's wasted three great scoring opportunities, and the 2-0 win was a well-deserved result.
Antonio was instrumental in this process, this time by his ball in front of the penalty area, giving Lancini, who was inserted at the back, a chance.
This wave of Attack by Lancini has won two consecutive shots on goal, and the source of everything is the seemingly simple pass after Antonio unloaded the high ball.
The key is that Antonio resisted the Sevilla center-back, once again pinning the opponent's center of gravity to his side, and finally Lancini played in the opposite direction, naturally winning the opportunity.
Antonio is already west ham's all-time scoring champion, but his goals have been scored in the penalty area. But any West Ham fan who has watched the game will know that Antonio's role outside the box is enormous.
The final goal that brought a killer goal still came from Antonio's attraction of 2 defenders to split the ball, allowing Lancini to cut into the back space.
The Argentine's shifting ball found for Fornals on the far side, who cut inside to cause the goalkeeper to get out of hand and let Yarmolenko complete the shoot.
As can be seen from the activity area 10 seconds after the Premier League teams have won the ball, West Ham United are the fastest teams on the flanks, and then they want Antonio as the organizer to connect and find the opportunity to strike the final blow.
In a way, Antonio's importance to West Ham is greater than Kane's presence in England, and even the opponent has a harder time limiting Antonio than dealing with Kane.
03. Hammer Gang that killed cup owners: Barca's biggest rival in the Europa League
Judging from the results of the current Europa League quarter-final draw, Barca will face Eintracht Frankfurt, and West Ham United will face Lyon. Because the two teams are in a semi-zone, if they can beat their respective opponents, they will be the first in the semi-finals.
Despite being 6th in the current Premier League table, West Ham's hopes of getting a Ticket to the Champions League through the top four of the league are slim. Especially the team has a set of lineups, it is difficult to cope with the double-line battle, and there will definitely be trade-offs in the future.
If he can really reach the semi-finals of the Europa League, perhaps Moyes will cherish the opportunity to win the championship and enter the Champions League.
In the past two Rounds of the Europa League, Barca's starting centre-back Garcia have faced Osmayn and the 36-year-old Gomi. If it weren't for Alba's help, Garcia would have almost become a sinn who was out of the Europa League with Barca.
If confronted by Antonio, will Xavi continue to trust Garcia? The combination of Araujo and Pique should be the best choice.
Conclusion:
As the only child in the Premier League, West Ham United's performance in the Europa League will also attract more people's attention. After beating the cup owners, I believe that no team will despise them again.
Can Leon stop Moyes? If Xavi's team were to face Antonio, what kind of scene would it be?