Soccer-Eintracht beat West Ham 2-1 in first leg of Europa League semis

The visitors, however, stunned David Moyes' men 49 seconds into the first half when Rafael Borre set up Knauff with a cross from the corner of the box and the 20-year-old headed home, silencing the sold-out 60,000 crowd at the London Stadium. West Ham had a number of chances to level the score, with including in the 14th minute when Jarrod Bowen received a beautiful pass inside the box but his effort bounced off the right post.

Eintracht Frankfurt winger Ansgar Knauff opened the scoring in the first minute as they beat West Ham United 2-1 in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday, with both teams seeking their first European final in over 40 years.

The last time the two teams met in the semi-finals of a European competition, West Ham won the two-legged tie to reach the 1976 Cup Winners' Cup final. The visitors, however, stunned David Moyes' men 49 seconds into the first half when Rafael Borre set up Knauff with a cross from the corner of the box and the 20-year-old headed home, silencing the sold-out 60,000 crowd at the London Stadium.

West Ham had a number of chances to level the score, with including in the 14th minute when Jarrod Bowen received a beautiful pass inside the box but his effort bounced off the right post. The Premier League side eventually equalised in the 21st, after Kurt Zouma connected with the free kick and nodded on to forward Michail Antonio who made it 1-1 from close range.

Knauff could have given Eintracht the lead again before halftime but his attempt from inside the box was well wide of the right post. But Eintracht, who sent home heavyweights Barcelona in the quarter-finals, regained the lead in the 54th, as West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola stopped a shot by midfielder Djibril Sow but did not manage to save the follow-up strike by Daichi Kamada.

The Japan international, who netted his fifth Europa League goal this season, had a chance to score again in the 79th minute but his shot from close range crashed against the post. West Ham, who advanced to semi-final after overpowering Olympique Lyonnais, continued to seek an equaliser but had no luck, as Bowen's stunning bicycle kick from near the penalty spot rattled the bar in stoppage time.

In the other semi-final RB Leipzig grabbed a 1-0 victory over visiting Rangers, with both second-leg ties to be played on May 5.