West Ham United have made it to the Europa League quarter-finals after defeating Sevilla 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.
David Moyes’ side suffered a 1-0 defeat from their trip to Spain last week and had a tough task on their hand. Tomáš Souček’s first half goal in the return leg at the London Stadium on Thursday gave the hosts a lifeline.
The tie in the English capital ended in a 1-1 draw after the 90 minutes and in extra time, substitute Andriy Yarmolenko’s goal made the difference between the two clubs in the end.
Julen Lopetegui’s side were one of the firm favourites to win Europe’s second tier club competition.
Joan Jordán, who played the full 120 minutes for the La Liga side, was left disappointed after the elimination at the hands of the Hammers. Speaking to Sevilla’s official media, relayed by Marca, the midfielder was candid about his assessment of the game.
“It’s a tough stick. In the first part we weren’t good. It cost us, they squeezed us well inside, they went to the man and in the second, at times, we were better than them but we didn’t sink our teeth into them. A bitter taste and a tremendous disappointment for us and for our people.”
Jordán further went on to explain: “When someone falls, you have no choice but to get up, we have to look at each other, raise our heads, there is a very good group and in general it has been a difficult year.”
“We all know why, but the team has grit, feeling, football and I say it not having passed. The easy thing would be to say that we were bad and we didn’t deserve to pass, but I trust my team.”
