West Ham United teed up an FA Cup quarter-final at home to Leeds by beating Brentford on penalties in a thrilling fifth round clash at the London Stadium.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side can dream of Wembley as West Ham United beat Brentford 5-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra-time.
Who was West Ham’s BEST PLAYER against Brentford?! 🤔
Both Jarrod Bowen and Igor Thiago bagged braces in an end-to-end game here in east London, but the Hammers were perfect from the spot, while Brentford missed one of their attempts – including a shocking effort from Dango Ouattara.
This has not been an easy season for West Ham but they could yet stay in the Premier League and have a trip to Wembley on the horizon.
Here are five things that Hammers News learned from a brilliant FA Cup clash.
Cole gets it wrong
Prior to the game, former West Ham hero Joe Cole admitted that he was disappointed with Nuno’s team selection.
While the Irons coach didn’t exactly name a team full of kids, he did make seven changes to the team who beat Fulham last week.
We win it on pens 😎 Do you fancy us to beat Leeds and book a trip to Wembley?!
When asked about that decision on TNT Sports before the game, Cole said: “No, I don’t. It was one of the things that I was hoping for when we came here, that he [Nuno] was going to go full strength.
“I understand it from a business and a financial point of view, but you know, I’m a romantic around the FA Cup.”
Well, a heavily rotated Hammers side went out and beat one of the best teams in the Premier League this season.
West Ham have strength in depth
On that point, it was promising to see West Ham actually boast some strength in depth.
That has been a concern for West Ham fans this season, but the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Mohamadou Kante, Pablo Felipe and Adama Traore all impressed on Monday evening.
The fact they were playing a pretty much full-strength Brentford isn’t to be overlooked, either.
This was effectively a Premier League-quality game and a West Ham team not quite at their absolute strongest found a way through it.
Relegation six-pointer audition as Leeds await in next round
On the final day of the Premier League season, West Ham host Leeds United in what could be a relegation-six pointer as dramatic as they come.
Before that, however, they will get a chance to size up Daniel Farke’s side.
Ally gets it 😎 Where should Pablo Felipe play for West Ham – as a No.9 or a No.10?
The Hammers will entertain the Yorkshire giants on the first weekend of April (exact date to be decided) in the FA Cup quarter-final.
Wembley is indeed in sight.
Perfect penalty lineup
The Hammers aren’t involved in many penalty shootouts these days but one would not have guessed that on Monday night.
All five of their takers finished with ease and special mention should be paid to Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The Greek international stepped up and produced an absolutely brilliant penalty to win the contest, somewhat similar to the one that Harry Maguire scored in the delayed Euro 2020 final.
If the next FA Cup game comes down to penalties, West Ham have every reason to think they will edge it.
Extra-time the last thing that West Ham United wanted
Having to go for 120 minutes is far from ideal for West Ham United, who have not been forced to play twice in a week that often this season.
While Nuno did rotate by making seven changes, the bulk of West Ham’s most important players did appear for most of the game.
That is hardly the best preparation for a huge Premier League game on Saturday, against Manchester City no less.
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