West Ham manager David Moyes is refusing to get carried away with his side's perfect start to the Europa League and insists his goal remains qualifying for the knockout stages.
The Hammers made it three wins from three games in Group H after defeating Belgian club Genk 3-0 at home on Thursday, following victories over Dinamo Zagreb and Rapid Vienna.
West Ham are only the second English side to win each of their first three group games in a single Europa League campaign without conceding a goal, alongside Tottenham in 2013-14.
The last team from any nation to achieve this was Sevilla who eventually won the competition in 2019-20 but Moyes would not be drawn on any comparisons.
"I'm keeping relatively calm because we've got to go to Genk away and Vienna away," Moyes during his post-game news conference. "I'm not going to take anything for granted.
"I said I want to be in Europe after Christmas. That's my plan for this year. We need another couple of points to qualify, not to win the group but if we can get that it would be a great start.
"The players have done a brilliant job. They really have. We've not won any of them easily. They've all been tough. The games have been close, even though we've been the better team in all three of the games. We've got to keep working to get those extra points to make sure we qualify."
West Ham's first two goals against Genk came from set pieces, with Craig Dawson and Issa Diop heading home from Aaron Cresswell's free-kicks.
Cresswell has assisted eight goals from dead-ball situations in all competitions since the start of the season, more than any other Premier League player.
Dawson has netted five goals in all club competitions this calendar year, which is equal best for any Premier League defender along with Manchester City's John Stones.
Angelo Ogbonna nodded in the winner from a Jarrod Bowen set-piece in Sunday's Premier League win over Everton too.
"It may be more effective in European football," Moyes said when asked about his side's set-piece threat. "The Premier League has got a lot of strong defences, and attackers who can defend set-pieces.
"Up until Everton, I’m not sure we had scored this season from a set-piece, so it is not as if we have been doing it every game but thankfully we got the winning goal at Everton and tonight as well.
"Craig Dawson is excellent at it, Issa Diop gets a goal tonight from it as well. Our centre-halves are the players on top scoring goals at the moment so I am happy with that and long may that continue."
Pep Guardiola can understand United’s motivation to end City’s treble hopes
Pep Guardiola believes stopping Manchester City winning the treble could give Manchester United extra motivation in the FA Cup final.
The two neighbouring rivals clash in the Wembley showpiece for the first time on Saturday with more than a trophy and local bragging rights at stake.
For Premier League winners City victory could be the second leg of a potentially glorious treble with the final of the Champions League to come next week.
United on the other hand – as the only side to have won all three of those competitions in the same season, back in 1999 – will be anxious to stop them and protect their place in history.
City manager Guardiola said: “I could understand that. It belongs to them, that’s normal. Sport is like that.
“’That belongs to us – we don’t want anyone else to do it,’ it’s normal, that feeling. It’s completely understandable. But it’s a football game, who will be better will win.”
United boss Erik ten Hag, however, has played down the party-pooping aspect of his side’s task.
The Dutchman has enjoyed an encouraging first season at Old Trafford having won the Carabao Cup and reclaimed a Champions League spot.
“I know what is the thinking from the fans,” Ten Hag said.
“But what we want is to restore Manchester United by winning trophies. We have an opportunity to win a trophy and we don’t want to be distracted by anything.
“If it’s important for the fans then it’s important for us, so we will give everything to win the cup.”
Guardiola insists the treble is not part of his thinking yet. He has spent the week preparing to face United and will switch focus to playing Inter Milan in Istanbul next week.
“We didn’t speak once about Inter these days,” he said. “We’ll have Sunday off, and after we’ll have three or four days training.
“We’ll introduce what we believe Inter are, to try to beat them, then. We have time. Saturday to Saturday is a long time to prepare for a game.
“United and the FA Cup deserve the full attention and commitment. The players are completely aware of that.”
City could have a fully-fit squad with Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji, who all missed last week’s game at Brentford, having since returned to training.
Guardiola has confirmed second-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega will start, as he has in all domestic cup fixtures this season.
United are without striker Anthony Martial due to a hamstring injury and winger Antony is also a major doubt.
James Vincent: It’s taken years to realise the importance of my cup-winning goal
James Vincent admits he has only recently started to grasp the full magnitude of his Scottish Cup-winning strike for Inverness eight years ago.
The 33-year-old midfielder scored the biggest goal in Caley Thistle’s history when he burst forward from his auxiliary role at right-back to tap home in the 86th minute as his 10-man team overcame a late flurry from Falkirk to claim the old trophy in 2015.
But Vincent, who returned for a second spell with Inverness between 2019 and 2021, admits it took him some time to fully appreciate the importance of what he had accomplished.
“It really is the sort of thing you grow up dreaming of, scoring a late winner in a cup final,” Vincent told the PA news agency on the eve of his old side’s Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic.
“It’s probably something that has become heightened over the years, partly by doing interviews like this. At the time I thought it was just another game to be brutally honest.
“I didn’t quite understand how it affected the lives of fans and staff. It’s only when you’re still getting messages from fans about the cup final all these years later that you understand how it impacted other people and that it was the biggest moment for the club they support.
“It’s probably something that I’ve come to realise over the years was such a big occasion and I’m so happy that I was part of it.”
Vincent was sent on by manager John Hughes as a 72nd-minute substitute to try and help Inverness – who were in the Premiership at the time – maintain control at a time when they led their second-tier opponents 1-0.
A red card for Caley Thistle defender Carl Tremarco just three minutes later, however, changed the whole dynamic of the match and Falkirk equalised with 10 minutes left.
Just as the Bairns looked set to turn the screw, the Highlanders broke away and won it when Vincent followed up to tap in the rebound after attacker Marley Watkins had surged from his own half and forced a save out of Jamie MacDonald.
“Circumstances on the day were crazy,” recalled Vincent. “We had ups and downs, a red card, people playing out of position, but I just took a bit of a risk towards the end and fortunately it paid off.
“When I came on, it was still 11 v 11 but Falkirk were getting a bit of a foothold. I went on for Ryan Christie to play in an advanced midfielder position but within three minutes we were down to 10 men and I got moved to right-back.
“John Hughes liked utilising us in different positions, which I felt was a strength of ours. The remit from there was to shut up shop, get to extra time and see if we could take it to penalties but I had the chance to break forward and I took it.
“A lot of the boys had played the majority of the game and were tired, especially when we were down to 10 men, but I had a bit of freshness about me and I was on the pitch so I just thought ‘I’ll have a go’. You don’t get to play in many occasions like that and I just took a gamble and kept going.
“I got myself ahead of the midfield line and it was only Marley up top and he managed to brush off a defender and get a shot away. I still think he should have passed to me but he had a shot and I was in the right place at the right time.
“Even though Falkirk were in the Championship, they had a really good squad and had been on the cusp of promotion for a couple of years. We were the favourites going into it but the tide turned when we had Carl sent off and we probably became the underdogs.
“It was tough, it was backs-against-the-wall at times, but we had a great attitude about us. I don’t think anybody expected us to finish the game the way we did.”
Vincent will be watching his former colleagues from his Glossop home on Saturday, hoping he will be joined in Inverness folklore by a new cup final-winning hero.
“It’s really nice to see Aaron Doran and Danny Devine trying to do it again,” he said of the two remaining members of the 2015 squad. “They’re the two boys, along with Billy McKay who I’m still really close to and still talk to quite regularly.
“Those lads will be really valuable to Inverness because they’ve got the experience. I think they’ve got a nice blend of younger and more experienced player.
“I’ll be watching on television as a fan and I’d love to see them have a go at Celtic and see where it takes them. If they do that and give it their all, nobody will moan regardless of the score.”
West Ham walk off pitch after alleged racial abuse in seven-a-side tournament
West Ham players walked off the pitch during a seven-a-side tournament in America after alleged racial abuse.
The issue happened against Dallas United in the The Soccer Tournament event on Thursday.
Dalles have withdrawn from the £1million competition following the allegation, which came towards the end of the game with Dallas leading 2-0.
Former Hammers Anton Ferdinand, Carlton Cole, Matt Jarvis, Marlon Harewood, Zavon Hines and Jimmy Walker are among those taking part in North Carolina.
It is unclear what was said – or to which player – but Ferdinand reportedly told media at the game the Hammers walked off due to racism.
A statement from TST read: “After conducting an investigation into the final moments of the match between West Ham United and Dallas United, we have concluded that Dallas United violated TST’s code of conduct.
“We have been in dialogue with leadership from both clubs and we are all aligned that the best path forward is Dallas United withdrawing from competition. All parties involved are unified in wanting to make a statement against racial insensitivity.
“We seek to run an event that is not only fiercely high stakes for all competitors, but also one in which all competitors feel safe and protected. As a result, tomorrow’s game between Dallas United and Far East United has been cancelled.”
The referee reportedly told players he did not hear what was said, before West Ham decided to walk off.
Dallas United wrote on Twitter: “In light of the shadow cast by an opposing player’s accusation during tonight’s match, the Dallas United players unanimously decided to withdraw from the remainder of the competition.
“Our coaches and staff fully support the team’s decision. We thank @TST7v7 for the opportunity to compete in the tournament.”
Wolves, Borussia Dortmund and Wrexham are among the teams taking part.
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