Tomas Soucek is relishing the chance to make West Ham history after helping them reach their first European quarter-final since 1981.
Soucek scored the opening goal to level the Europa League round of 16 tie with competition experts Sevilla before substitute Andriy Yarmolenko scored the goal. an overtime winner after Pablo Fornals’ shot got in his way.
West Ham now enter the quarter-final draw alongside Barcelona, Rangers and RB Leipzig, among others, as David Moyes’ side seek their first trophy in more than four decades.
“I am so happy that we can write history at the club,” Soucek said. “I hope we can do more than today.
“I know that when we beat Sevilla we can beat any team.”
It was the biggest night at London Stadium since the controversial move from the Boleyn Ground in 2016.
Michail Antonio has lived through the struggles at the club, joining the Hammers from Nottingham Forest in 2015 and the 31-year-old says he has never heard the stadium so loud.
“I’ve been here for seven years and the only atmosphere that came close to this was the last game at the Boleyn Ground,” he told BT Sport. “I said at the beginning that the atmosphere was absolutely roaring.
“We’re not afraid of anyone. We’re in this to win it and now we’re in the quarters, why can’t we win it?”
‘We are climbing a mountain’
When he returned to the club for the second time in 2019, 18 months after being sacked to make way for Manuel Pellegrini, who was later sacked after spending heavily on failed transfers, Moyes vowed to create “a new West Ham”.
He has successfully carried them away from the relegation zone and into the European quarter-finals in the space of two years.
But the former Everton and Manchester United boss is not getting carried away.
Moyes has already told his players to report to Hammers’ Rush Green training ground on Friday morning to begin preparations for Sunday’s trip to Tottenham and warned them that they are only at the beginning of the journey in which wants to take them.
“If you want to be a great club, you have to get used to being there all the time,” he said.
“We are climbing a mountain, but we are a base camp at the moment.
“This result will give us a lot of confidence. We have had two very tough and close games against the team that is second in the league. People say that Spanish football is not the same, but we have seen what Atlético de Madrid and Villarreal week [knocking Manchester United and Juventus out of Europe]. Sevilla is above those two.
“This win felt fantastic, but we don’t get a cup for it. We have to refocus and have another chance.”
Moyes wanted to spread the praise, but believes Yarmolenko’s goal was invaluable in helping to spread the message globally about the difficulties being experienced in Ukraine today.
Yarmolenko seemed overwhelmed at the final whistle, but eventually chose a fan holding a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag and handed him his jersey in recognition.
Captain Declan Rice is lost in admiration for Yarmolenko’s performances following his return from compassionate leave given the turmoil he finds himself in.
“I just saw Yarmo in the equipment room,” he told BT Sport. “He was a little emotional and just needed a little time to himself. He’s been through a lot.”
It was also a great result for Rice, who is coveted by most of the biggest clubs in the country that can offer this kind of European platform on an annual basis.
“These European nights are special,” he said. “Hopefully we can continue them.
“I love the West Ham fans. They care a lot about this club. If you give 100 per cent, they treat you like one of their own.”
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