David Moyes ranks West Ham's elimination over Sevilla in the Europa League on Thursday among the most special nights in his time at the club.
Andriy Yarmolenko’s 112th-minute winner gave the Hammers a 2-0 win on the night, with the tie locked at 1-1 on aggregate after 90 minutes, following Tomas Soucek's first-half goal.
West Ham have now progressed to their first European quarter-finals since the 1980-81 Cup Winners’ Cup, where they lost to Dinamo Tbilisi.
From surviving Premier League relegation in 2019-20 to Thursday's elimination of the six-time Europa League holders in Sevilla, Moyes was quick to bring it all into perspective.
"This will be as high as we have had,” he told BT Sport post-match. “We have had other nights, avoiding relegation was an incredible high but thankfully we have moved on from that.
"Beating a serial winner of this competition made it a bit more special. They just keep going. You could see the resilience in them. We keep on going.
"Nights like this really help you build. I thought Sevilla were probably favourites for the tournament. For us to beat them over two legs is an incredible result."
Hammers midfielder Declan Rice believes confidence is flowing through the club, and is comfortable with any potential opponent, including Barcelona – who progressed past Galatasaray earlier on Thursday.
"I’ll take anyone [in the quarter-finals],” he told BT Sport. "There's no one to fear. Sevilla were probably the favourites. We can go anywhere and get a result. Teams come here knowing they’re in for a game.
"It would be special to go there [to Barcelona]. That's what this club deserves, there's a big buzz around the place. David Moyes deserves massive credit.
"I'm lost for words. Walking around the pitch, taking it in. I love West Ham fans. They care so much about this club. They demand 100 per cent and if you do that, they treat you as one of their own. It was special to be on the pitch tonight."
After scoring upon his return against Aston Villa on the weekend, Yarmolenko's winner provided a poignant moment amid the backdrop of armed conflict in his native Ukraine, according to Rice.
"Yarmolenko was a little bit emotional away from the lads afterwards," Rice said. "For what he's been through to perform like this is a credit to him – his desire, the way he chased players and scored two crucial goals.
"He deserves this. He's stepped up, I'm delighted for him."
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
Third-place 'doesn't mean anything', says Forest boss Nuno
Nottingham Forest leapfrogged into third place in the Premier League after a 3-0 victory against West Ham United, but Nuno Espirito Santo believes “it doesn’t mean anything.”
Forest took the lead through in-form striker Chris Wood before Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina added two more following Edson Alvarez’s dismissal for a second yellow late in the first half.
It was a complete display for Nuno’s side, who have outperformed expectations so far this season, with this representing the first time Forest will end the day in the top three of the top-flight since 1998.
While the manager was proud of the achievement, he will not rest on his laurels this early in the season.
"It doesn't mean anything now. We have to keep going as it's a over long season ahead of us. Positive moment but we should keep going," Nuno told the press.
"I think all of us should be proud of the way we performed, we started the game well and controlled their threat while being positive going forward.
"The red card changed everything but the players understood not to be complacent. This is what football is about, fantastic moment for us and the fans."
Forest racked up an expected goals (xG) total of 2.08 while limiting West Ham to just 0.16 xG at the City Ground.
They had 19 shots, with six of those on target, leaving vice-captain Ryan Yates hungry for more by the final whistle.
"We were really getting into it at the end and we wanted more goals. Unfortunately mine didn't go in but we are delighted with today's work,” he told BBC 5 Live.
“[Nuno] can really implement the ideas. There are many things that have gone into why we were doing well. I think the recruitment has been fantastic. We have kept the core together and we are doing really well.”
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