The Declan Rice flashpoint towards the end of the Sevilla clash means midfield star misses second leg at West Ham.
For the third game in a row West Ham spurned golden chances to end up on the losing side as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Sevilla in the Europa League last 16 first leg.
To West Ham’s credit, though, they dug in and kept themselves in the tie with the second leg at the London Stadium next Thursday night.
West Ham will be lifted by one particular moment that occurred towards the end of the game.
It was a Declan Rice flashpoint which means Sevilla midfield star Lucas Ocampos now misses the second leg at West Ham.
Rice became fed up with Sevilla’s time wasting tactics and took matters into his own hands, quite literally, by picking West Ham target Youssef En-Nesyri up off the deck.
That sparked a reaction from Argentine Ocampos who shoved Rice.
Ocampos was a tricky customer all night, particularly when he switched sides in the second half.
But after both he and Rice were booked for the flashpoint, it means Ocampos is now suspended for the second leg as he was already on a booking, as highlighted by Hammers News before the match.
On the flip side, influential Sevilla midfielder Thomas Delaney – who missed the game against West Ham – will be back from suspension for the second leg.
David Moyes will be delighted Ocampos won’t feature against West Ham at the London Stadium.
But as Sevilla proved they have an infinitely stronger squad than West Ham and were still able to put out a decent team with seven key players out.
West Ham’s season is threatening to fizzle out unless they can turn this one around at the London Stadium.
Facing a Sevilla side without the dangerous Ocampos will certainly help their chances.
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