Ghanaian forward Mohammed Kudus was back among the goals in the Europa League as West Ham United defeated SC Freiburg 2-0 at the London Stadium on Thursday night.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring for the Hammers in the 14th minute, before his Ajax teammate Edson Alvarez doubled the lead for David Moyes’ side as they finished atop Group A and progressed into the knockout phase.
Top of Group A ???? pic.twitter.com/cQsjDobdof
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 14, 2023
Kudu got his second goal in the Europa League and his sixth goal in all competitions this season for West Ham since his move to England last summer.
The Premier League side got off to a blistering start in front of their home crowd, with Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta almost opening the scoring in the fifth minute, but he was denied by the crossbar.
Kudus, who was named to the African XI at the 2023 CAF Awards in Morocco on Monday, finally put West Ham ahead nine minutes later. The former Ajax man latched onto a through pass from Alvarez before bringing the ball down with his chest and dinking it past Noah Atubolu in goal for the visitors.
They thought they had doubled their lead in the 26th minute through Jarrod Bowen, but the Englishman was ruled offside.
However, they finally got on the scoresheet again, with Bowen acting as a provider for Alvarez in the 42nd minute. The Mexican star finished off a move he started, slotting the ball calmly past Atubolu and into the bottom corner after a neat one-two interchange with Bowen.
West Ham continued to mount pressure on the Germans, with Bowen and Paqueta coming close early in the second half. Kudus should have made their pressure pay off, but his effort from inside the box flashes just wide of the Freiburg goal.
The Black Stars midfielder was finally taken off in the 88th minute to a resounding applause from the home fans after he was substituted by Cote d’Ivoire international Maxwell Cornet.
Ten straight European wins at London Stadium! ✅ pic.twitter.com/Z4lRgeML7C
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 14, 2023
The Hammers have now won ten straight home games in all European competitions, becoming just the fifth English team to achieve such a feat, and they have qualified as group winners in each of their last three seasons in Europe.
Moyes’ men will now turn their attention to the Premier League, where they sit ninth in the standings and will face Wolverhampton Wanderers at home this Sunday.
