West Ham United came from a goal down to beat Romanian outfit FCSB 3-1 in their 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League opener. Elsewhere, Villarreal edged Polish Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznan in a seven-goal thriller.
Andrei Cordea gave the Romanians the lead in the 34th minute, tapping in a cross at the back post and sparking wild celebrations in the away stand at the London Stadium.
However, the Hammers rallied back in the space of twenty minutes to seal the points. Jarrod Bowen equalized in the 69th minute with a thumping spot-kick before Emerson Palmieri scored his first goal in claret and blue five minutes later to overturn the deficit.
Michail Antonio confirmed the win in the 90th minute with a superb solo effort, powering away from his marker before slamming a shot past the goalkeeper at the end of a driving run.
2020/21 UEFA Europa League winners and 2021/22 UEFA Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal started their campaign with a narrow win over Lech Poznan. The two teams played out a seven-goal thriller in Spain, with Villarreal winning the tie after surrendering a two-goal lead at one point.
Michal Skoras gave the visitors the lead just two minutes into the match, the away side capitalizing on an error by right-back Adrian de la Fuente. However, Samuel Chukwueze brought the Yellow Submarine back on level terms with a superb, first-time volley off a Johan Mojica cross, two minutes past the half-hour mark.
Alex Baena scored twice in quick succession – first in the 36th minute and then the 40th – to put Villarreal in cruise control, but captain Mikael Ishak’s brace on the other side of the interval brought Poznan back level again with half an hour left to play.
As the clock closed in on the 90, however, former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin volleyed the ball past the opposite custodian from just outside the box, breaking Poznan hearts and sealing the win for Villarreal.
