Conference League semi-finals: West Ham edge past AZ, Fiorentina score 129th-minute winner
Basel 1 Fiorentina 3 (AET)
Fiorentina denied Basel the chance to become the first Swiss side to make it to a European final as a 129th-minute goal in extra time fired the Viola into the Europa Conference League final.
The hosts needed no greater no motivation in front of their passionate supporters while Fiorentina knew nothing less than a victory would see them reach a European final for the fifth time. The respective league form of both sides meant this competition was their likeliest route into European football next season, and with this in mind, there was a clear caginess in the opening exchanges, with neither side registering a shot on target for half an hour.
Basel had progressed in 14 of the 15 previous European ties in which they won the first leg away, but the Viola were keen to rewrite history, and they had the game’s first clear-cut opportunity when Cristiano Biraghi’s ball into the area picked out Nicolas Gonzalez, whose header flew just wide of the top left corner.
Having wondered if he would get another such opportunity, just three minutes later he did when he rose highest to meet Biraghi’s corner and power a header home to draw the visitors level on aggregate.
The confidence was flowing through the Italians after the goal, and it took a sharp reaction save from Marwin Hitz to deny Giacomo Bonaventura’s header from close range and ensure the deficit was just one at the break.
Zeki Amdouni, whose last-gasp goal gave Basel a slender victory in last week’s first leg, was at it again 10 minutes after the restart to restore his side’s lead in the tie. After latching onto Andy Pelmard’s free-kick over the top, the talented 22-year-old beat his man with quick feet before finding the right-hand corner.
This was actually Basel’s first shot on target all night, and they were punished for an otherwise lacklustre attacking display with just under 20 minutes remaining when they failed to clear a ball into the area, allowing González to power home for his second goal of the night, which levelled the tie once more.
The visitors looked likelier to score in the closing stages, but the game always seemed destined for extra time. These additional periods are often uneventful affairs, with neither team wanting to make a mistake, but the Viola had two good opportunities when Luka Jović’s header from point-blank range was straight at Hitz, before the Swiss stopper denied Bonaventura for a second time.
It appeared as though a wasteful Viola were heading to a penalty shoot-out, but in the most dramatic fashion, Antonin Barak poked the ball home from close range in the ninth minute of stoppage time because of a medical emergency in the crowd, sending the Italians through to the final, where they will meet West Ham United in Prague on June 7.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina)
AZ Alkmaar 0 West Ham 1
Abba were top of the chats with Fernando the last time West Ham reached a European final, and as the Swedish pop-icons continue their residency in London, the Hammers beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 to reach the Europa Conference League final. Pablo Fornals’ late strike secured a 3-1 aggregate victory and the English side's spot in Prague.
The hosts, unbeaten in 23 home European ties since 2017, looked dangerous from the off, with Jesper Karlsson proving a particular threat as they looked to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg. David Moyes’ side soon snuffed out that early stint though, and started to exert some control, leading to Jarrod Bowen dragging a bobbling shot wide.
Shortly afterwards, only the width of the post prevented the Hammers opening the scoring as Lucas Paquete dipped onto his left foot with a drop of the shoulder before curling against the woodwork from the edge of the box. Said Benrahma then fired over from distance while Yukinari Sugawara had a shot deflected narrowly wide at the other end.
The concern for the visitors was that AZ were dominating possession, and they nearly made that count after the break when Sven Mijnans forced Alphonse Areola into a low save. Evangelos Pavlidis then had a penalty appeal turned down, while Pantelis Chatzidiakos’ thumping low drive was turned away as the Dutch outfit desperately looked to up the tempo.
The frantic nature of the final few minutes was reflected in hectic end-to-end football which nearly saw Thilo Kehrer stab into his own net and at one end and Nayef Aguerd miss a huge chance at the other.
And then, deep into added time, Fornals burst through midfield and slid into the bottom corner from distance to send the travelling fans berserk, as they booked their place in the final.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tomas Soucek (West Ham)