(Football news) In the first leg of their Europa League last-16 match, the Irons lost 1-0 to Freiburg on Thursday, while Vincent Kompany’s team lost 2-0 to Bournemouth the previous weekend.
Michael Gregoritsch’s goal in the 81st minute would win Freiburg the match, allowing the Germans to exact revenge for their two Europa League group stage defeats to West Ham. However, there was the usual VAR dispute during Thursday’s first leg at the Europa-Park Stadion.
When referee Alejandro Hernandez jogged over to the pitchside monitor to review a possible handball, West Ham United would seemingly be given the chance to equalise from 12 yards deep into stoppage time, but in a scarcely-seen scenario, the official stuck with his original call and did not point to the penalty spot.
Moyes was understandably less than impressed with the referee’s decision, but a one-goal deficit is hardly unassailable for the Hammers to make up, especially if their recent goalscoring exploits in the Premier League are any indication of what Freiburg can expect in the English capital.
After picking up their first win of 2024 at the ninth attempt against Brentford, the Europa Conference League champions produced a late show to sink Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park last weekend and currently reside in seventh place in the Premier League table as a result, two points better off than Newcastle United.
Still capable of qualifying for European football via one of two avenues this season, the Irons now set out to rectify their midweek mistakes and earn a 10th win from their last 11 Premier League meetings with newly-promoted sides, and they have not lost such a fixture since October 2021.
Last weekend, Burnley welcomed two sides to Turf Moor that had not won a Premier League title in 2024 in an attempt to rekindle their survival bid and make Bournemouth look over their shoulder. However, Kompany’s squad was made to pay for yet another careless outing.
The Clarets dominated the first half, with Justin Kluivert scoring the lone goal. However, as Burnley kept trying but couldn’t find the back of the net, Bournemouth eventually took advantage once more, with Antoine Semenyo making sure the Cherries would return home with their first three-point haul of the year.
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