West Ham vs AZ Alkmaar

On Thursday, West Ham United came from behind to defeat AZ Alkmaar 2-1 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semifinal. The victory puts the Premier League club in a strong position to reach their first European final since 1976, with the return leg taking place at the AZ Stadium in Alkmaar next Thursday.

After trailing 1-0 at halftime, West Ham equalized with a 67th-minute penalty from Said Benrahma and took the lead with a goal from Michail Antonio just nine minutes later. The Hammers dominated the second half and might have won by more, with AZ appearing tired towards the end of the game.

AZ took the lead in the first half with a long-range effort from Tijjani Reijnders that caught West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola off guard. The goal was controversial, as home protests claimed that West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta had been fouled and lost possession in midfield, allowing AZ to move the ball swiftly upfield and tee up Reijnders for his shot.

West Ham's second-half pressure paid off, with a mistake from AZ goalkeeper Matt Ryan leading to the equalizer. Ryan's mistimed aerial challenge on Jarrod Bowen resulted in him punching the West Ham forward in the face, and the penalty was awarded. Benrahma made no mistake from the spot.

West Ham sealed the victory after more uncertainty from Ryan at a corner, with Antonio poking the rebound into the net after Nayef Aguerd's header was cleared off the line by Yukinari Sugawara.

West Ham will look to increase their lead in the return leg, but they will face a tough challenge as AZ have won all eight of their home matches in this season's Europa Conference League.