West Ham 2-0 Freiburg: The Hammers clinch top spot in Europa League group thanks to goals from Kudus and Alvarez

West Ham’s fans had been calling for David Moyes’ team to turn on the style and who better to satisfy those demands than the midfielder they lured from Ajax, the home of Total Football.

Edson Alvarez assisted and scored as the Hammers entered the Europa League’s last-16 with utter ease. That first-half influence from their £35million man was enough to make sure they topped the group ahead of last night’s visitors Freiburg of Germany.

Alvarez’s ball in behind for Mohammed Kudus’s opener was delicately done, while the goal he scored for himself was the product of the kind of passing move the supporters have been craving.

In truth, Freiburg never looked like troubling West Ham here. Moyes’ men took their 2-0 lead and then shut up shop for the second half, utilising the substitutes to keep legs fresh for Wolves in the Premier League on Sunday.

This victory meant Moyes’ men became the sixth English club to top their European group for a third successive season – after Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United. There is something about these competitions that bring out the best in this club.

The year 2023 will be remembered as a historic one for West Ham after winning the Europa Conference League. They hope 2024 will prove as memorable in the Europa League.

Yet there were swathes of empty seats in the upper tiers of the London Stadium, this clash to decide who finished first and second in Group A seemingly not capturing the imagination.

The permutations for West Ham were simple. Win or draw and they would finish top. Lose and they would finish second to Freiburg, forcing them into the two-legged play-offs.

Moyes did not want to add another two games to a roster that is rammed enough as it is. He hoped for an early goal to settle the nerves and nearly got it when Lucas Paqueta struck Freiburg’s crossbar with a fierce attempt from 18 yards inside five minutes.

The away end was full of energy but their team was not. West Ham took the lead after 13 minutes and at first, Moyes did not look too pleased with Alvarez when he floated a ball in behind Freiburg’s back line. The Scot was soon shaking his fists in celebration when Kudus chested it down before beating Noah Atubolu.

VAR checked to see if Kudus had handled the ball but it was a clean take as West Ham led 1-0.

Freiburg’s high line seemed to be there for the taking. West Ham hoped they had exploited it again in the 25th minute when Bowen scored from Paqueta’s ball in behind, but he was offside.

West Ham did double their advantage before the break and it was Alvarez who added a goal to his earlier assist. He darted inside before playing a one-two with Bowen, picking up possession to slot the ball beyond Atubolu for 2-0. Known more for being a formidable defensive force, we were now seeing his attacking side.

There was a warning from Freiburg at the start of the second half that they were still in this contest, with half-time substitute Merlin Rohl forcing Lukasz Fabianski into his first save.

Yet Bowen should have confirmed this win when Vladimir Coufal’s cross fell to him inside the six-yard box. The West Ham striker made a mess of what should have been a tap-in by his standards, before Kudus then blazed his attempt wide from 16 yards.

Having missed Sunday’s 5-0 Premier League defeat at Fulham due to illness – a humiliation which showed how influential he is to this team – Alvarez was removed after 54 minutes here. His work was done, as West Ham breezed into the Europa League's last-16.