It has been a difficult 2022/23 season for West Ham, but there is at least a nice reward for David Moyes’ men at the end of it. The Hammers took down Fiorentina 2-1 in the 2023 Conference League Final to win their first major European trophy.
Although the Viola had the majority of the possession, they did not take their chances, nor did they defend particularly well. Those are tantamount to cardinal sins against a West Ham side that is fully capable of punishing any foe on the counter.
Here are the player ratings from the 2-1 Conference League triumph for West Ham over Fiorentina in Prague.
Fiorentina Player Ratings
GK Pietro Terracciano, 5.0 – The two one-on-one stops he made didn’t count, but he was culpable in three moments. He should have handled one shot that he saved in a panic for a corner. On the penalty, he should have done a better job of reading Saïd Benrahma’s left knee, which clearly gave away that he was going for the right side.
On the last goal, he made an obvious technical failure by sliding onto the ground instead of making himself bigger, which would have prevented a deflection from trickling into the net. Terracciano has been a clear downgrade from Bartłomiej Drągowski and is legitimately one of the worst goalkeepers in Serie A.
LB Cristiano Biraghi, 5.0 – Struck in the head by a plastic cup in a cowardly act by some of the West Ham supporters. Biraghi had a couple of nice corner kick deliveries but was otherwise poor, failing to impact the game creatively. This was not a captain’s performance by any means.
CB Luca Ranieri, 5.0 – Not sure why Vincenzo Italiano went for a totally unproven, undersized makeshift center back. Ranieri wasn’t bad, but he was a bit shaky. He made a mistake that nearly led to West Ham scoring from nothing.
CB Nikola Milenković, 6.5 – The standout center back was decent in this game, covering ground as best as he could and not making any mistakes in one-on-ones.
RB Dodô, 5.0 – Though Dodô did his job defensively, he should have been a lot more effective going forward.
CM Rolando Mandragora, 5.0 – Another player who should not have started. Wasted too many good opportunities for Fiorentina by being selfish. Mandragora missed a golden opportunity created by Arthur Cabral, wedging his foot completely sideways instead of trying to get his toe around it. That was an amateur technical failure that proved to be costly in the Conference League Final.
DM Sofyan Amrabat, 7.5 – Though the star defensive midfielder was too late on his sliding tackles and eventually received a yellow card for his sloppiness, the World Cup standout had another strong game for Fiorentina. He was nearly flawless with his passing, giving the Viola all the control of midfield they needed. And as usual, he worked hard to win the ball in defense.
CM Giacomo Bonaventura, 8.0 – A masterful goal, equalizing from nothing with a brilliant first touch and an even better second touch, hooked around the defender. Bonaventura was the main source of creative threat for Fiorentina, and he worked hard in a box-to-box role on the right side of the formation.
LW Christian Kouamé, 5.0 – Provided some sense of danger but should have done a lot more to actually create chances. Also missed Fiorentina’s best opportunity to score.
ST Luka Jović, 5.0
RW Nicolás González, 7.5 – Fought hard to win the header that set up Bonaventura’s goal. The Fiorentina star man was a constant danger to the West Ham back line, always looking to take players on and constantly drawing fouls. González works hard on both ends of the pitch, which is always appreciated.
ST Arthur Cabral, 7.0 – A clear upgrade over Luka Jović at the half. He was much, much more active than the disappointing No. 7, actually trying to drift deep or wide while holding play up to create opportunities. Cabral was so close to an assist.
West Ham Player Ratings
GK Alphonse Areola, 6.0
LB Emerson Palmieri, 7.0 – A strong performance defensively despite facing a tough matchup, and he did a good job of progressing play without making any mistakes on the ball. He’s always been hated too much.
CB Nayef Aguerd, 6.0
CB Kurt Zouma, 6.0
RB Vladimír Coufal, 6.0
DM Declan Rice, 8.0 – An immense defensive performance for West Ham, shielding the back line effectively and blocking multiple passing lanes with his positioning. Rice is ready for the big time. Fiorentina had so much possession, but they did not toy with the Hammers in the final third, largely thanks to Rice’s astute positional play in the defensive midfield. He did well leading the team out into transition opportunities, too.
DM Tomáš Souček, 5.0
AM Lucas Paquetá, 8.0 – Paquetá is quickly becoming a fan favorite and is the Hammers’ second-best player after Declan Rice. The Brazilian playmaker had a brilliant assist that did not amount to anything due to an offside, but he made the exact same pass the second time to create Jarrod Bowen’s winner. Paquetá also recorded four tackles, reminding everyone that he isn’t just a great creator. The former Lyon man is also a tenacious ball-winner.
LW Saïd Benrahma, 5.0 – Sunk the penalty but was honestly poor outside of that. He isolated himself on the left wing and didn’t do enough to break free for West Ham to create any sort of chances on the counter.
RW Jarrod Bowen, 7.5 – The underrated winger’s final ball wasn’t at its best, but he was such an ever-present danger off the ball, causing Fiorentina nightmares in transition. Bowen took his chance well in the end for the winner.
ST Michail Antonio, 6.0 – Worked hard in transition and was willing to fight for every ball against the Fiorentina defense. The quality of his passing and his positioning against the back line were poor, but he made up for those issues with sheer work rate.
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