Second half goals from Said Benrahma and Antonio sealed a 2-1 win for the Hammers ahead of their semi-final second leg in Alkmaar next week
Given their resources – West Ham have spent £180m on transfers this season, four times more than the other three semi-finalists combined – getting this far was practically expected, less so the visitors.
These clubs may be competing at the same level of European football, but otherwise operate in different stratospheres. West Ham’s right-back, right-sided centre back and No 10 were signed from PSG, Chelsea and Lyon respectively; AZ’s were recruited from Nagoya Grampus, Go Ahead Eagles and Sparta Rotterdam.
In contrast, Declan Rice was the only homegrown star in the home side’s XI, but if the Premier League’s riches has contributed towards “The West Ham way” losing its way, AZ are in no position to allow their academy to drift. Since 2019, AZ have sold five academy graduates for €10m or more: Guus Til to Spartak Moscow, Myron Boadu to Monaco, Calvin Stengs to Nice, Teun Koopmeiners to Atalanta and Owen Wijndal to Ajax and remained competitive.
Benrahma found Ryan tougher to catch out than David de Gea last weekend, the Australian making a superb finger-tip stop to nudge the Algerian’s effort wide early on in a moment that could have made the evening infinitely more comfortable for West Ham.
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