West Ham United 2-2 RC Celta de Vigo
West Ham United won 6-5 on penalties
Betway Cup, London Stadium, Saturday 10 August 2024, 3pm BST
West Ham United retained the Betway Cup with a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Celta Vigo on Saturday, after an entertaining 90 minutes finished level at 2-2.
Jarrod Bowen got the match off to a fantastic start as he scored the opener from a beautifully crafted Lucas Paquetá pass on six minutes.
After largely bossing the opening 20 minutes, the Irons found themselves pegged back, as Mihailo was afforded space to bring the visitors level.
Paquetá was featuring in his first pre-season outing this summer and marked it with a beautifully lobbed finish after some fantastic play between him, Bowen and Michail Antonio on 34 minutes to restore the Hammers' lead.
In the second half, Celta Vigo again managed to pull themselves level, with Pablo Durán making the most of a ricochet in the box and slotting home to make it two-apiece.
Aaron Cresswell, James Ward-Prowse, Tomáš Souček, Nayef Aguerd, Maximilian Kilman and Luis Guilherme all converted in the shootout, with Durán blazing the final penalty well over the bar, meaning the Hammers were the victors and lifted the trophy.
Head Coach Lopetegui handed summer signing Guido Rodríguez a starting spot in midfield for the clash against the side from Galicia, whilst Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Füllkrug were named amongst the 15-man strong substitutes bench.
The opening exchanges saw both sides battle for a sustained spell of possession, looking to cause issues for one another when play broke down. That happened inside the first five minutes when Mohammed Kudus was caught in possession, and Borja Iglesias forced Alphonse Areola into his first routine save of the contest.
But the Hammers immediately responded from the mishap. Paquetá found space just outside the Celta penalty area and found captain Bowen with a delightful ball into the box that went over the head of defender Jailson Marques. Bowen made no mistake, slotting the ball with his right foot beyond goalkeeper Iván Villar.
The visitors looked to respond immediately but were crowded out by some solid defending at the back. Jonathan Bamba let fly from distance, but he saw his shot cannon off Kilman and into the arms of Areola.
Despite the Hammers largely controlling the opening 20 minutes, it would be Celta Vigo who would score the game's second goal. A dangerous ball into the area by Oscar Minqueza was narrowly missed by Iglesias, but the ball eventually landed at the feet of wing back Mihailo, who was allowed time to fire an effort that was aided by a deflection past Areola.
The Irons thought they had moved back in front on 32 minutes when a Bowen corner was flicked on by Konstantinos Mavropanos and stabbed home on the line by Paquetá. However, the assistant referee adjudged the Brazilian to have been in an offside position and the goal was ruled out.
Less than two minutes later though, and Paquetá had his goal. Neat interplay between Antonio and Bowen saw the No10 played in behind the defence, affording him the space to beat Villar with a delightful dink over the onrushing goalkeeper to put the Hammers back in front.
A flurry of chances followed, with Bowen forcing the Celta goalkeeper into a good save a minute later as they struggled to cope with the dynamic forward quartet. Then, from the resulting corner, Mavropanos saw his header smash off the outside of the post.
The opening stages of the second half had a slower pace than the first 45 minutes, with the Irons happy to keep the ball and look for openings.
The visitors once again got back into the contest when a shot from the edge of the area cannoned off the legs of Kilman and into the path of Durán, who made no mistake from close range and fired past a helpless Fabiański with 66 minutes on the clock.
Looking to respond, Summerville was involved moments after coming on as a substitute. He attempted to link up with Kudus, but the lofted pass was cut out and fell nicely to Souček, but he couldn’t keep his effort down and it sailed over.
Sergio Carreira forced Fabiański into a close range save as the clock ticked down into the final five minutes. Up the other end, Ward-Prowse shot narrowly wide from distance late on, and soon after, the referees whistle sounded, meaning that penalties were required to decide who would lift the Betway Cup trophy.
Cresswell, Ward-Prowse, Souček, Aguerd, Guilherme and Kilman all converted, with Durán firing high over the crossbar, meaning it was the Hammers who retained the Betway Cup in their final pre-season match before the 2024/25 season gets underway.
West Ham United: Areola (Fabiański HT), Coufal, Mavropanos (Aguerd HT), Kilman, Emerson (Cresswell 72), Rodriguez (Ward-Prowse HT), Souček, Paquetá (Earthy 67), Bowen © (Summerville 67), Kudus (Luis Guilherme 88), Antonio (Füllkrug 60)
Unused Subs: Herrick (GK), Ings, Cornet, Irving, Casey, Kodua, Potts.
Goals: Bowen 6, Paquetá 35
RC Celta de Vigo: Ivan Villar (Vidal 45 HT), Starfelt (Moriba 72), Mingueza (Sotelo 83), Iglesias (Duran 63) , Beltran (González 71), Aspas © (Rodriguez 72), Jailson (Domínguez 63), Bamba (Swedburg HT), Mihailo (Álvarez 63), Manquillo (Aidoo 72), Damian (Carreira 83)
Unused Subs: Fernández (GK)
Goals: Mihailo 21, Durán 66
Referee: Darren Bond
