West Ham won the Conference League

Czech Republic Jarrod Bowen's 90th-minute goal helped West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1 in the Europa Conference League final on June 7.

Goals: Bonaventura 67' - Benrahma (pen) 62', Bowen 90'

The Conference League final saw a tight contest with many fierce clashes, especially in the second half. In a difficult match for West Ham, Bowen became the hero when he won a penalty to help the English representative open the score, before breaking free to score in the 90th minute to seal a thrilling victory. The 2-1 victory helped West Ham end a 43-year title drought, and also secure a ticket to next season's Europa League.

Bowen's (white) 90th-minute finish helped West Ham win the championship. Photo: AP

Most of the West Ham fans who arrived in Prague did not have tickets to enter the stadium. Those present in the stands at Fortuna Stadium made the match tense from the first half. One of the 5,000 West Ham fans threw a strange object that hit Cristiano Biraghi in the head, causing the Fiorentina defender to bleed and need medical attention. On the field, the players of both teams also played fiercely with many rough tackles.

Both teams have failed to qualify for European competitions domestically, so they are determined to win the Conference League final. This is West Ham's first European final in 47 years, while Fiorentina have had to wait 33 years to reach the final of a major tournament on the old continent.

Fiorentina are the favourites, having scored the most goals in European competitions this season, with 36 in 14 games. The Italians' attack broke through West Ham's net late in the first half, but VAR ruled Luka Jovic offside with the rebound.

The tie was broken in the 62nd minute. Bowen handled the ball cleverly in the penalty area, causing Biraghi to handle the ball. From the penalty, Said Benrahma put West Ham ahead.

Fiorentina stormed forward after conceding the goal and needed just five minutes to equalise. Giacomo Bonavetura controlled the ball neatly and fired into the far corner, beating Alphonso Areola. From then on, both teams became more aggressive in their tackling and more cautious in their defence.

Fiorentina had 63% possession and twice as many shots as West Ham (17 to 8). But those numbers were meaningless, as the English side were the eventual winners thanks to their sensible counter-attacking tactics. A brief lapse in concentration at the end of the match saw Fiorentina punished by Lucas Paqueta's through ball. Bowen, West Ham's fastest player, broke free and finished off the ball to seal the 2-1 result in the final minute of regulation time.

Manager David Moyes ran around the pitch celebrating after Bowen's goal, while his counterpart Vincenzo Italiano was stunned. Fiorentina had eight minutes of added time to find an equalizer, but failed.

Captain Declan Rice and his teammates lift the Europa Conference League trophy at Fortuna Stadium on June 7. Photo: AP

West Ham won their first trophy since beating Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup final, and their first European title in 58 years. Left-back Emerson made history as the first player to win all three European competitions, the Champions League and Europa League with Chelsea, as well as the Conference League with West Ham.

David Moyes' men finished 14th in the Premier League, but the season was still considered a success as they qualified for the Europa League group stage next season. Fiorentina are the second Serie A side to lose a European final in just a few days, after AS Roma lost to Sevilla in the Europa League. Italian teams could make it a "hat trick" of runners-up, if Inter fail to beat Man City in the Champions League final this weekend.

Line-up:

Fiorentina (4-3-3): Terracciano, Dodo, Milenkovic, Ranieri (Julio 84), Biraghi, Bonaventura, Amrabat, Mandragora, Gonzalez, Jovic (Cabral 45), Kouama (Saponara 62)

West Ham (4-3-3): Areola, Coufal, Zouma (Kehrer 61), Aguerd, Palmieri, Soucek, Rice, Paqueta, Bowen, Benrahma (Fornals 76).

Vy Anh

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