West Ham 5-0 Freiburg (5-1 agg): Hammers blow Germans away, Kudus scores stunner

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

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

Two of West Ham’s most important players - Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen - starred in the first act. It was then Aaron Cresswell, a man who has had to play more of an understudy role this season, who took centre stage. Mohammed Kudus scored a solo goal worthy of a standing ovation before he closed the show with a superb second.

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

But few could have anticipated a demolition as convincing as this.

Moyes had said in 2021 that he wanted West Ham to become a big club in Europe and it is now three European quarter-finals in three years. Even after a night like this, he will still have some doubters. But it is hard to argue with those stats.

This is also a victory that is significant for the Premier League, who are now in a stronger position of claiming a fifth spot for next season’s Champions League.

Two ‘performance’ places are up for grabs due to the new format, with these determined by the two countries with the best average performances in all European competitions this term.

Italy were top with Germany second and England third going into last night’s game. The Hammers eliminating a German side could prove significant in the long run.

Moyes made three changes to the team that drew 2-2 with Burnley on Sunday, with captain Kurt Zouma replacing Nayef