West Ham United reached their first major European final since 1976 after they beat AZ Alkmaar in their Europa Conference League semi-final. The Hammers are hoping to lift their first major trophy since they lifted the 1980 FA Cup; they were one of three winners of the 1999 Intertoto Cup.
Having won the first leg at London Stadium 2-1, the Hammers were resolute away to their Dutch opponents, reaching the final in Prague on 7 June with a 1-0 second-leg win.
David Moyes’ side soaked up plenty of pressure at AFAS Stadium until Pablo Fornals scored on the counter-attack in second-half injury time.
West Ham will face Fiorentina, who beat Basel in extra time in the other semi-final.
Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi expressed his pride after La Viola booked their place in the Conference League final on Thursday night, but has insisted that the players are already focussed on bringing home trophies from the two finals they are set to be involved in in the coming weeks.
The Tuscans left it right until the end of the tie to secure victory over Basel in the semi-final of the Conference League, as Antonin Barak’s goal in the ninth minute of injury time at the end of extra time set the scores to 4-3 over the two legs.
Fiorentina will also feature in the Coppa Italia final against Inter at the Stadio Olimpico next Wednesday, having beaten Cremonese over two games in the semi-final in April.
Speaking after the final whistle at the St. Jakob Park on Thursday evening, Biraghi expressed his gratitude to everybody involved at Fiorentina.
“I don’t know where to start,” he began. “I want to start by thanking everyone, staff members, the club, the coach, players and fans. Thanks to all of those who supported us through the tough moments.
“Now we have this final, two finals, I think it’s an extraordinary result. The most important thing is to be motivated for more. Despite the joy tonight, we are already talking about bringing something home.”
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